We stood there looking at each other for a second before Nathan finally spoke up.

"Hey Hales….it's been a long time .how are you doing?" he asked with a small smile.

"I'm good!" I said, putting on a smile and trying to will away the stinging pain in the middle of my stomach that only surfaced when he was around.

"You, uh, celebrating something?" Nathan asked, looking up to my tiara again.

"Yeah….I'm…uh, getting married," I said, fiddling with the tiara, suddenly very self conscious.

Nathan's expression was unreadable. "Well, congratulations then."

"Thanks….um, how have you been?" I asked.

"Ya know, here and there….real busy with basketball though," Nathan said, looking down and seeming distracted.

"Yeah, that's what I hear, good for you," was all I could think to say.

To say things were awkward would be the understatement of the century.

"Well, it was nice seein' ya," Nathan said, trying to make a step to slide past me.

"Yeah, you too," I said dumbly.

He took a step and turned around, "….be sure to remind that guy how lucky he is," he said. I stood there, feeling like a child in my veiled tiara as I watched him walk away.

I knew it, I knew it then. I wasn't over him – not by a long shot. Distance and time had only shielded me because I hadn't seen him. Now that I had seen him, it was like flood gates. Everything came back to me then – I was filled with memories of how i tutored him in high school, how he asked me out, how we were together…somehow that's all I could think about. I didn't even think about the way things ended and how flaky Nathan had been during that time.

I'd like to be able to blame things on my alcohol-induced haze.

I found myself doing something that would surely make me want to kick myself later.

"Nathan!" I called after him.

Nathan heard me and turned around.

"Would you want to get together sometime for lunch, ya know, catch up?" I asked him.

Nathan smiled. "I'd like that. Are you sure, I mean, would your fiance mind?"

I shook my head, "Nah, he's really understanding.

"Okay, how about I call you?" Nathan asked.

"Sure," I said, trying to sound non-chalant.

Nathan smiled and walked away.

What are you doing? I was asking myself internally. What is wrong with you?

I knew that I didn't want to know the answer.

~~~~~

"How could you, Haley?!" Brooke nearly yelled.

We were all congregated back at my apartment and it was nearly 3AM.

Peyton, Tara and Erin just sat quietly, surveying the scene as I had told them of my encounter with Nathan at the club.

"Listen, its really not a big deal, alright? Besides, I'm sure he won't call anyway..."

"That's totally not the point and you know it," Brooke said. "Why would you even give him the time of day?"

"Well, it is Nathan Scott," Erin spoke up.

"Shut up, Erin, you're not helping!" Brooke replied.

I just shook my head. "Listen, I've had a lot to drink....I'm not even thinking clearly...it was a lapse in judgment and its not a big deal at all....so please don't make this into something its not."

Brooke just looked at me.

She was very protective, bordering on overprotective at times. Pairing that with her disdain for Nathan made for a very unpleasant combination.

I went upstairs to change out of the clothes I had worn out. They were smelling of cigarette smoke and vodka (I had had a not so smooth spill at the end of the night)

All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and pretend I hadn't seen Nathan-- and pretend that I hadn't asked him to lunch.

I slept until 1:00pm the next day.

We actually had left the day open in our plans for the continued weekend celebration. We knew how we partied and knew we'd need recovery time.

I checked my phone when I woke up, almost surprised that Todd hadn't called a single time.

He was good for giving me space with the girls when I needed it.

He's the right one for me...he just is, I convinced myself internally.

I got up to go to the living room to see what everyone else was up to.

Tara and Erin were playing a game on my PlayStation and Brooke was sitting with Peyton on the porch, drinking coffee.

I walked outside and sat in the porch swing.

"Hey sleepyhead," Peyton smiled. "We were wondering if you were going to wake up..."

I grinned, "you guys remember? I used to live like this on the weekends in college."

Brooke hadn't said a word the entire time. After a minute, as if on cue, Peyton got up and walked back in the apartment, leaving us out there alone.

"So, are you hungover?" I asked.

"No," she said, looking out of the lawn.

"I wanted to thank you for everything last night - it was a perfect evening for a bachelorette," I grinned.

"Yeah, are you gonna throw that 'last fling' in there too, for good measure?" she asked, looking at me.

"Excuse me?" I said, now getting very angry - she was taking this too far.

"Well, you can't honestly expect me to think that you wouldn't sleep with Nathan again if he wanted to," Brooke said.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "That is not fair and you know it...."

"No, I'll tell you what's not fair -- there's a guy across town who loves you and wants to marry you - yet who do we end up talking about by the end of the evening of your bachelorette party?....who we always talk about -- Nathan Scott!"

I shook my head, "if you honestly think that I would cheat on Todd, then you really don't know me at all."

"I know who you are and I love who you are...but who you are around Nathan scares me," Brooke said bluntly. "He has this inane power over you -- I've seen it a thousand times and I saw it again last night....he could get your life back into a mess real quick if you let him."

"Well, I wouldn't let him anyway, so that's irrelevant...so let's just let it be and enjoy the rest of this weekend," I said quickly, regretting that I had ever told Brooke I had run into him.

Somehow, she had managed not to see him and it hadn't even been mentioned until we had gotten back to my apartment.

I knew there was no use arguing anymore and got up to walk back into the apartment.

I went upstairs to check my phone -- no call from Todd. There was a text message. I smiled, thinking that Todd had sent me a greeting.

I flipped open my phone to find a strange number that looked oddly familiar.

"How's lunch, Tuesday, 12 at Spano's?"

I gasped in surprise. The text was a lunch invite from Nathan.

So, now the ball was in my court, so to speak....and I didn't have the slightest clue what I should do.