When she heard a knock on the door to her room, Haley turned off the TV and got up off the bed. She was so tired all of the sudden, but she didn't think it was jet lag. It was because she was listening to Nathan argue with everyone and be a jackass to her. It was getting quite old.
She pulled open the door and her jaw dropped when she saw Nathan standing there. "Hey," he greeted. "I thought about it and I know you probably have things to say to me, and I have things to say to you, so I'm going to stick it out with you for one night."
"Oh, don't sound so enthused." She rolled her eyes and pulled the door open more for him to come in. She wondered why he had chosen to stay with her when he was so obviously full of anger for her. Maybe he was going to try and be the bigger person. Maybe he would apologize to her later or something. 'Maybe' being the operative word.
He set his bag next to hers and shut the door behind him. "I'm trying here, Haley," he said quietly.
"Well, I guess that's all I can ask for," she replied, lying back down on the bed. "Are they going to bring up a cot?"
"Yeah," he answered. "That idiot Robert said he'd have someone send one up in a few minutes."
"Don't call him an idiot, Nathan," she muttered, kicking off her stilettos. Her feet were killing her. Damn fashion statements she always had to make.
"He is!" he argued, hands on his hips. "The guy loses my reservations - "
"That wasn't even his fault!" she interrupted. "Do you think he made the computer crash? I certainly don't!"
"Whatever," he mumbled, dropping down into the chair near him. "He's obviously in charge."
"But he isn't the computer," she pointed out.
She was getting so completely frustrated with him. He just wanted to argue for the heck of it because it was Haley. If it had been with anyone else, she knew he would have just dropped it and accepted the fact that the system had messed up his reservation. Of course though, because of what had happened six years ago, he was going to be an ass about every little thing.
"Just don't talk about it, Haley," he ordered. "I'm tired and I've had enough of arguing with you for the rest of my life."
"Funny you say that...because if I remember correctly, back in high school, you were done arguing with me when I left...but here you are, still arguing. Your word really doesn't mean much, does it, Nathan?"
"Neither does yours," he fired back. "I remember something about you loving me and promising to spend the rest of your life with me. Yeah, that didn't mean much either."
She ignored him and looked out the window. She could see the shops she used to go to with her mom when she was a little girl. The storefronts were so close together and it reminded her of little towns that you would see on television shows. Tree Hill was a pretty little town, despite the memories, and she would never deny that.
She wondered at that moment what Jared was doing. She hadn't thought of him all day up until then. She'd been too busy getting pissed at Nathan and doing her best to be the better one out of both of them. He had already proved that he wasn't man enough to deal with her in a mature way so she was going to be the mature one. That had been her role the day she met him, and it would be her role years later, but that didn't surprise her.
She looked back at Nathan who had pulled out his cell phone so she decided to do the same. Hopping off the bed, she grabbed her purse and discreetly moved the velvet box to the bottom as she grabbed her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she came upon his name and hit the send button. The phone rang four times before going through to voice mail. "Hey, Jared, it's Haley. I just wanted to let you know that I'm in Tree Hill. The flight was fine and I'm in my hotel room now until dinner tonight with everyone. Call me when you're not busy, okay? I love you."
She shut her phone and looked up to find Nathan staring at her. "You love him? Hmm. That's probably a lie."
"Knock it off, Nathan," she gritted out. "You were the one who said we didn't have a future anymore the night I came back so quit acting like you're such a victim. You're just as much at fault for any of this as I am."
"No, Haley, I really don't think I am," he fired back. "You decided to leave for some stupid music tour, and Chris Keller. You're the one at fault here."
"But you won't let it go!" she screamed at him. "You refuse to let it go and be a man about it. You're still the same selfish, immature seventeen year old boy you've always been!"
"Yeah," he scoffed. "And you're the same bitch who's not happy with anything in your life. Nothing was ever good enough for you and it's still not."
"I'm happy, Nathan," she swore to him. "I'm happy with Jared. And I love him a hell of a lot more than I ever loved you."
His jaw dropped at that statement. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to actually tell him that. "See Haley? Bitch." He glared at her a moment before getting up and storming out of the room.
She closed her eyes when he was gone and brought her hand up to her mouth. She could not believe she had just said that to him. She didn't even know if it was true. She was just trying to hurt him the way he had been hurting her all day. If she was honest with herself, she had always loved Nathan more. Nathan, to her, was kind of the one that got away. But even so, she wasn't going to go after him again. She wasn't going to go there. They had hurt each other too much over the years. Too much had happened and she knew there was no possible future with Nathan.
She felt bad for saying what she did. She usually wasn't one to hurt people with words. That was more Nathan's department. But something inside her had just snapped. She'd been feeling a slight...pull all day towards saying something because he had been going on and on about how awful she was. When he called her an unhappy bitch, she just let loose. She couldn't help it.
--
Nathan chucked the ball at the backboard and watched as it bounced back at him. He wasn't even trying to make it in the hoop. He just wanted to throw something and the ball against the backboard was the best he could do for the time being.
"You know, for an LA Laker, you sure do suck."
He turned around to find Jake Jagielski along with Lucas walking up the court. "Bite me," he muttered, walking over to give Jake a quick hug. "It's been a long time, man."
"Yeah, it has," Jake agreed. "How've you been?"
"I've been...better. Tree Hill isn't my favorite place to be, you know." Jake and Lucas both nodded. "But I wouldn't miss being in your wedding for the world, Jake. Congratulations."
"Thanks a lot, Nathan. I appreciate you flying out here knowing you're going to be dealing with some...awkwardness from the girls."
"I can't change the past." Nathan shrugged. "I know Brooke is pissed at me for the way things went down when I saw Haley last, and I know Peyton thinks we could have worked it out as well, so yeah, it's going to be awkward. But there's nothing I can do."
"Peyton's going to be pretty tied up with her own thing," Lucas pointed out. "You probably won't have to deal with much from her. Mainly Brooke because we all know that Haley won't say much to you. She's trying to be mature about this whole thing."
"I know," Nathan agreed. He could tell she was trying to be mature ever since the plane ride. He kind of admired her for it. He wished he could hold his tongue the way she could. But he had never been able to, and he wasn't going to bother trying now.
"Speaking of, Luke told me you agreed to stay in the same room with Haley for the night. I'm guessing it didn't go so well because you haven't been in town for even two hours yet."
Nathan looked at his brother and then back at their friend. "She told me that she loved Jared a hell of a lot more than she ever loved me. It pissed me off so I called her a bitch and I left."
"Damn." Lucas let out a low whistle and went to retrieve the basketball that Nathan had been firing at the backboard a few minutes earlier. He took a quick shot, smiling at the 'swoosh' sound it made. "She really said that?"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "It's not like I didn't deserve it. I know I did with the way I've been acting all day, but it sucks to hear it."
"I'm sure calling her a bitch didn't help the matter," Jake added, shooting the ball after Lucas passed it to him. "She tried with you six years ago, Nate, and you let her go. She isn't a bitch for doing something you told her to do."
"What do you even know about it, Jagielski?" he mumbled. "You were barely around back then."
"Probably because I was taking care of my daughter," he replied, completely unbothered by Nathan's bad attitude. Nathan had that same attitude ever since they were teenagers and it was never going to change. He would always be the same cocky person blaming everyone else for his own problems.
"Guys, just don't argue about it." Lucas sighed. "I've had all the arguing I can take for the day. I've got a headache and it's bigger than the one I get when Brooke drags me on her twelve hour shopping sprees."
"Luke's right." Jake held out his hand to Nathan. "I'm sorry. I just want to see everyone in my wedding get along this week. It's not my business, and I really don't know much about it...only from what everyone's told me. Sorry, Nate."
"It's fine. I'm sorry I'm taking my shit out on everyone else," he apologized. "It's just...I knew Haley would be here this week. She's one of Peyton's best friends. I know they talk all the time and I know Peyton's flown out to see her. I was prepared to see her in Tree Hill. I wasn't prepared to see her on the same flight as me."
"It's understandable, Nate," Lucas told him, balancing the ball on his hip. "But that doesn't mean you need to treat her like shit. This isn't all her fault and in no way am I saying it's all yours, but you told her that you guys didn't have a future. You need to quit holding that against her."
"It's not that easy, Lucas." He sighed and walked over to the picnic table, taking a seat. "That was the worst time of my life. It's not that easy to forget and let go of."
"I remember it," Jake said, sitting down beside him. "It was right before Nikki took Jenny and I left town again. You were a mess, Nathan, but look at you now. You got over it and you're a huge basketball star now. You don't need to look back on the past with Haley. It's done and over with."
"Nathan," Lucas acknowledged his brother, "I know it's tough. I know it tore you apart back then, but you worked through it. Don't let seeing her put you in a dark place again." He patted his brother on the back. "She'll always be one of my best friends, but you're my brother, so if you need anything, let me know, alright? If you feel like you need to take some anger out because of her, than use me. Don't do it to her. You've both hurt each other way too much to keep on doing it."
Nathan gave his brother a slight smile and looked out at the river. Haley leaving was the worst thing he had ever gone through and he didn't think he could ever get over it. He was taking his anger out on Haley because he was still angry that he had been left behind. He hated that she had done that to him. She was the only girl he had ever loved and when she left, it nearly killed him. And he was still nowhere close to being over it.
--
Haley smoothed down her pale pink dress and looked at herself in the mirror one more time. After fixing her lip gloss, she smiled, satisfied with her appearance. She walked back into the bedroom to find Nathan sitting on the bed. His eyes met hers and she could tell he was troubled. After all those years of not seeing him, she still knew when he was upset and that scared her.
Nathan looked Haley up and down. He couldn't believe she was a blonde now. He never would have pictured her as someone to change her appearance, but then again, she was a star now. She needed to look the part.
"Going to dinner with everyone?" she questioned, putting in her earrings.
"Planned on it," he replied, standing up. "You done in the bathroom?"
"Yeah." Haley sighed and walked over to the bed, sitting down. "Look, Nathan, I know you have to get ready right now but...I'm sorry for what I said. I just wanted you to know. It was completely uncalled for and I had no right to say it."
"Thanks, Haley." He gave her his famous crooked smile and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door.
Haley frowned. She had apologized to him and he had nothing else to say but thanks? How about sorry for being an ass all day or sorry for telling you we had no future back then? She had said one little thing to hurt him when he had been doing it all day. It was completely unfair. She wanted to take back that apology. He didn't even deserve it.
She went downstairs into the lobby and found Brooke and Peyton standing there. "Haley James!" Peyton opened her arms wide and Haley flew into them, hugging her friend tight. "Oh! I missed you, girl!"
"I missed you too! I love our text messages and phone calls but nothing compares to being here again!" She smiled and kept an arm around Peyton, pulling Brooke into her other arm for a group hug. "I missed both of you."
"We missed you too, Tutor Girl. You know, you could always drag your big fat Grammy down here and buy a house."
She smiled. "Maybe someday. But now I'm just too busy with work and Jared's in California."
"Yeah, Haley, about that." Peyton put her pointer finger to her chin. "I forgot to tell you last time we saw each other and I met him...he is a total fox!"
She laughed. "Thanks so much, but I do believe you have a wedding to worry about. Not how hot my boyfriend is."
"I know!" Peyton smiled widely and collapsed onto the couch behind her. "I'm so excited you guys. I've been waiting to marry him for forever, it seems like. I thought we'd never get here with all the drama we went through."
Haley and Brooke each took a seat on either side of Peyton. "But you did, P. Sawyer. You guys made it out stronger than ever and now you're getting married!" Brooke reminded her happily, patting her on the thigh.
"Haley," Peyton began, "I heard you and Nathan were staying in the same room for the night and trying to work things out. How's that going for ya?"
She rolled her eyes. "Nathan's an ass. You know I apologized for getting out of line today with him even though I barely did anything wrong. I said one thing to him and he's been taking cheap shots at me all day. You know what he said? He said thanks and walked into the bathroom."
Peyton chuckled. "That's our Nathan."
"Oh no." Haley held up her hands. "He is not our Nathan. He is your Nathan. After your wedding, I won't be associated with him anymore. I'm sorry it has to be like this but I don't know what else I can do."
"Haley, this isn't your fault," Brooke said. "You tried with Nathan and he was the one who told you no more. Don't worry about how things are. This is all on Nathan right now."
"Thanks, Brooke." Nathan sauntered in. "It means a lot that my brother's girlfriend supports my ex-wife so much." He rolled his eyes and went to stand in front of Peyton, pulling her to her feet. "Good to see you. Congratulations."
"Thanks, Nate," she answered, hugging him. "Now can we all just get along tonight please? My wedding is this week and I really want it to go alright. So no more name calling, no more pouting, no more arguing. For me and Jake and Jenny?"
Haley nodded. She owed her friend that much. "No more."
"Yeah," Nathan echoed. "No more."