Well, it's been a year since I published the first chapter of this….I never thought I would still be writing it a year later….this story was going to be only a little longer than the Dreamer's Life. So much for that.

Hey people who read my story last year: Remember where I went through a sort of depression because my English teacher told me I couldn't write? Well, it happened again. My journalism teacher this time (I've had her for three years) told me I rarely show basic writing and editing skills.

It was a little difficult to write this chapter…

Anyway, thank you so much to you guys who review. You are the ones who keep my confidence up and keep me writing when my teachers insist on bringing me down. So, really, thank you very much to all of you who read my story and to those who review. It makes up for all the bad crap.

On an OTH note, is anyone else slightly disappointed that Haley would never slap Carrie but she would go after the mom of the bully?

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters and such.

Bold face is reality with Haley in a coma, Normal is the dream world, and Italics are the thoughts and memories.

The next installment of the story shall now begin on a boardwalk that holds so many memories….

The Games Begin

Nathan saw it floating in the river as he walked up the boardwalk. A small green hat that he hadn't seen in a long time. Panic overtook him. "Haley!" He shouted and ran to the edge of the dock, gripping the supports while scanning the water for a sign of Haley, floating face-down in the water.

"Nathan?" A quiet voice asked from behind him.

Nathan turned and smiled in relief. He quickly closed the distance between them and pulled her into a tight hug. "Haley, I saw your hat and thought you fell in."

Haley didn't answer but buried her face into Nathan's chest. She didn't want to hurt him and never have him worry about her like this again.

"What's wrong Hales?" Nathan asked as he pulled back a little and looked into Haley's dark eyes.

"Chris came by—"

"Crap," Nathan cut Haley off. "Hales, please say you didn't listen to him."

"Nathan, please, just listen to me first." Nathan looked at Haley with a fearful expression but waited for her to speak. "They want me to tour with Fall Out Boy."

Nathan ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't ready for this. He didn't want Haley to leave him, but he didn't want her to give up her dreams for him either. "I found out who told the magazines Haley."

Accepting that Nathan really didn't want to talk about the tour at that second, Haley asked "Who?"

"Red and Mouth. It was Red's idea and she just tempted Mouth is my bet."

"And then she called Chris. She would've said things that weren't in the story…" Haley thought about his idea to talk bad about Nathan in magazine articles and realized Red would've told him how close she and Nathan had gotten recently, how hard the decisions was going to be without some major intervention.

"I have to go Nathan," Haley said distantly. "I have to go have a little chat with someone."

"Marvin, why aren't you eating?" Dan asked with a charming smile.

Mouth glared at Dan from across the table. His hands were tied to the arms of the chair he was in and a bandana was still tied around his mouth making it difficult to breathe, let alone speak.

With a laugh Dan said, "Now Marvin, you can't expect me to just let you go and tell that idiot son of mine of my role in this. Once that happens, nobody will listen. I'm not stupid, I know they all hate me. I know if they find out that I called the reporter in the first place with an anonymous tip weeks ago and just happened to have slipped his business card in that girl's purse Nathan and Hades would just get closer together and 'overcome this obstacle.' It makes me sick. And then, Nathan's career would be ruined by Hades. I can't allow that to happen."

Mouth shook his head.

Dan laughed again and walked over. "I guess one second wouldn't hurt. It's not like you can scream since the bastard did me a favor and broke your nose."

The first thing Mouth did once Dan untied his gag was spit right into Dan's face. "You'll neba pull Haley away fom Nate. They too goo now. You'll ge caugh."

Casually, Dan flicked Mouth in the nose, which caused his eyes to flood in pain, but he refused to cry out.

"I think you're wrong Marvin. But I guess we'll just have to see now then won't we?" Dan said angrily as he jammed the gag back into Mouth's mouth.

Lucas shot a basket at the River Court. He wanted to help Nathan fix things with Haley, but he knew this was something Nathan and Haley had to do by themselves.

He missed the basket and as he went to grab the ball rolling towards the river he saw something floating.

Looking closer, Lucas realized it was Haley's old green hat. It had been the first thing Haley had knitted by herself when she was eight. It had been way too large and poorly done, but it had meant everything to her and she had worn it all the time for eight more years.

That hat was a symbol of simpler times and there was no way Lucas was going to let it get washed down the river. He quickly ran into the water and grabbed the old, priceless hat.

He glanced up at the boardwalk and got a feeling that something was wrong. Lucas ran off the court and to his car so he could cross the river and get to the boardwalk fast.

"You're not going to let her go are you?" Chris asked Nathan as Haley walked down the street and out of sight.

Nathan balled his hands into fists, refusing to look at Chris. "Now is not the time to talk to me Keller."

"Worried your wife might pick me again?"

Something Lucas said from the dark time in Nathan's life resonated in his mind, "No. I mean kinda how your wife likes Chris better than you."

In a flash, Nathan had Chris pushed against the wooden posts that kept people from slipping into the water.

"You like water Keller?"

Desperately, Chris shook his head. He couldn't swim and the river wasn't the shallowest.

"I didn't think so." Nathan released his grip on Chris and brushed his hands off on Chris' shirt.

"She needs this tour Nate. I won't let you stand in her way to fame," Chris said after he distanced himself from the boardwalk's edge.

Nathan shook his head and looked at Chris with an expression that plainly said, Do you even know what the hell you're talking about? "Haley and I need each other Chris. Otherwise, we're both pretty messed up people. You better not get in my way of staying with her." Nathan turned and started to walk up the boardwalk.

"Are you still going to want to stick with her once the new article comes out?" Chris asked evilly.

Haley walked all over town searching. The sun was quickly setting and she hadn't found who she was looking for, but she did find someone whom she wasn't expecting.

"Keith Scott!" Haley managed to scream with honest excitement when she saw a familiar figure across the street.

A second later the figure dove into an alleyway and disappeared in the fading light.

Confused, Haley proceeded to follow.

Nathan turned back slowly. "What new article?"

Chris laughed. "She didn't tell you Nate?"

Loudly, Nathan cracked his knuckles.

"The record company wants Haley to go back to that same reporter and talk about what a controlling asshole you are. They want her to say you're just a bad habit that whenever she's around you she gets sucked back into your world. The only way she can escape you is when she's on tour."

Anger started to flow through Nathan again. "This was your doing wasn't it Keller? It was your idea for this second article?"

"Of course it wasn't Nate! We're pals right? I mean sure, you beat me to a bloody pulp but why would I hold anything against you? I even gave your wife freedom, nothing wrong with that right?"

Once again, Chris found himself being pushed over the edge of the boardwalk in an instant.

An inch away from his face, Nathan breathed menacingly, "For the last time Keller, stay away from Haley."

"That's fine Nathan. I don't have to do anything. You can push her away without any help from me. I can't wait to read the new article. You know how she's going to talk to someone right now? You think it's that reporter?"

Nathan wanted to hit Chris, hit him hard and shove him into the river. He was sure Chris would be alright, just wet and scared. However, Haley's face flashed in his mind and without another word, but a slight shove, Nathan released and walked away from Chris who was looking fearfully at the river.

"The old Nathan would've just thrown me in!" He shouted after Nathan in a jeering tone.

What Nathan didn't know was that Chris was actually admiring Nathan. He really did notice the changes Haley had on him and hated trying to split them up. If it was for anything other than Haley's future, he never would try to pull them apart.

"The old Nathan is on vacation," another voice, this one full of malice, said from the other side of Chris.

Haley ran down the dark alleyway as she searched for Keith. She was sure it was him who she had seen from across the street. Why was he running away from her?

Haley turned down a corner where the alley got even closer together. The smell of rotting fish engulfed her and thick smoke covered the alley. "Keith, what are you doing down here?" She asked as she blindly continued down the dark street.

Out of nowhere, Haley felt herself run into something tall and warm.

"Hey pretty lady, where are you in search a hurry to?" An oily voice asked from above her. "Wait a second, I know you."

Fear in her eyes, Haley looked up at the person who smelled heavily of alcohol that she had just crashed into and saw none other than Damien West.

"Nathan Scott's bitch," he growled.

Apparently, he was still angry about the night of the Boy-Toy auction and losing in the championship match.

Glaring, Lucas Scott pushed Chris Keller down. "Mean old Nathan Scott might be on vacation because of Haley's return, but mean Lucas Scott is here."

Chris had never been afraid of Lucas. Lucas wasn't as tall as Nathan or as muscular. He didn't look as threatening either, just like he was always brooding about something.

However, at that second, Chris felt a twinge of fear when he saw Lucas' eyes. There was raw anger there, much like how Nathan looked when he had beat him up before.

"Luke, let me explain," Chris said quickly, his cocky tone gone.

"What would you say Chris? That really, you're a huge fan of Naley? You're only doing this for Haley's sake. You think she's better off with a career than just with Nathan?"

Chris smiled, "Exactly! Luke, I knew you would understand me!"

"You actually think I would believe your bullcrap Keller?" Lucas picked Chris up off the ground.

"You stay away from Nathan and Haley, but if you do get anywhere near them, you better be fixing them. Got it Keller?" Lucas asked.

"Keller does what Keller wants," Chris said with a grin. There was no way Lucas, the nice one of the brothers, would throw him into the cold water below.

"Lucas does what Lucas wants," Lucas replied before he pushed Chris into the river.

"I want another article to be run," Nathan found himself saying to the huddling figure.

"Get away from me!" the young and bruised reporter yelled at Nathan.

With a sigh of frustration, Nathan said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to clear things up for everyone. I want to tell everybody how nice of a person Haley is. That's all."

"Why should I do anything for you after what you and your friends did to me last night?"

"Because it's a major story. People are interested now. If you say no, I'll just go to someone else and they can get the scoop first," Nathan said with a hint of his trademark smirk.

"Fine," Herc Donavan said grudgingly as he stood and then sat down on a chair across from one Nathan had already sat down in. He opened his reporter's notebook. "What is your story Nathan Scott?"

"Rachel," Dan said with a grin. "I have just been informed from a good friend that Nathan has gone to meet with the reporter you talked to on the phone."

"So you want me to find out what they're talking about?" Rachel asked, bored, as she painted her toenails.

"Of course not," Dan answered maliciously. "I want you to go to Nathan's room, half-naked, and shove Nathan against the wall, kissing him. Make sure you can get a picture too, one to send to that bumbling tabloid writer."

"What's the point of this? Make me look like a whore?" Rachel asked as she finished up her pinky toe.

"To make Hades' worst fears come true. That the virgin isn't good enough for the god."

Rachel grinned. "When do I need to go?"

"As soon as you can," Dan answered. As soon as he hung up, Dan pulled out his phone to call Herc Donavan with an anonymous tip that Nathan Scott was going to be having his girlfriend on the side, a young freshman named Rachel "Red" Gatina over for dinner that evening.

"This is where the fun begins," Dan said to Mouth with an evil grin.