A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I appreciate them all. Here is the next part. There's a little bit of Nathan's POV in here. I think I'm going to start adding other people's POV in the upcoming chapters so we can get a better glimpse of their thoughts. But remember this is mostly HALEY'S POV! :) This is her world. I'll only add the other people's thoughts if it's needed like this one. I hope you enjoy it! P.S. BABYCAKES! haha I knew you couldnt resist. I love the review and totally love the username. LOVES!

TOMORROW WE HAVE NEW OTH!NALEY! I'm super excited! It feels like it's been years!

Here's the next chappy. READ AND REVIEW READ AND REVIEW! HEHEHE.

-ANNIE

Chapter 12// I Never Told You

"You think you've had enough?"

Jake tried to take the wine glass away from me but I pulled it back. I only had a few glasses of wine that I snatched from the bar. No one caught me which was a surprise. I kept drinking whatever I could find for some reason. I didn't know what got over me but I was really hurting inside. Seeing Nathan and Zoey together was too hard to bear. Nathan and I weren't even dating. We were just friends. That's what he told me. Even if we were just friends, I thought it would be fun to go together. We were just friends. Only friends. Friends! Friends! Friends! I hate that word.

"Look," I snapped, motioning my finger at him. "I have so much going on in my mind right now. I need this."

"We should get a drink of water and you can tell me about it," he said reaching out to grab my glass.

"No," I said. "I don't want to tell you."

Jake stopped reaching for my glass and put his hand on my back. "Well, lets at least get some water," he stated, guiding me through the crowd.

My body had the tendency to overpower me. I could never take control of it. And I blame it on Nathan. So far it happened when he was inside my head. I don't get drunk like this. I never get drunk over a boy. It's never gotten that far because it just . . . didn't. I know that I've been hurt before, but somehow this feeling is different. I felt something for Nathan. It wasn't the same feeling I had for Aaron or Cameron. I had fallen hard for Nathan almost to a point where I thought I was in love. But I'm not. I can't say that. I am not in love with Nathan Scott. That won't happen. I think that I'm getting it confused with a stupid high school crush. It's just an infatuation.

While Jake was carefully guiding me towards to the drinks, I saw Peyton and her date. She turned to me and I noticed her head tilt. Soon enough she was walking closer to me. It was hard to keep myself balanced, but at least Jake was here to hold me up. Other than that, I wanted to escape. I wanted to get far. So far that no one could see me at all.

"Haley?" she asked, now by my side.

"I can't talk right now," I said.

She stepped back from the smell of my breath and looked at me curiously. "Have you been drinking?"

"She found a few glasses from the bar," Jake answered.

"Haley," Peyton snapped.

"So," I replied, stepping away from Jake. "I'm hurting Peyton," I continued, placing my hand against my chest. "Do you have any idea how much it kills me to see him with someone else?"

She stepped forward and tried to give me some sympathetic hug but I didn't want any of that. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to be drunk and alone right now because nothing could heal me. This was what I was trying to avoid this whole time. I wanted to stay away from . . . love . . . no . . . lust? I don't know, whatever this is, I wanted to stay away from it. Even if I tried my best to keep away from this type of situation, it happened anyways.

"Please, don't," I said, stepping away from them. "Okay?"

"Haley, let me help you," Peyton said, stepping forward again.

I shook my head and slightly stumbled against someone behind me. "You can't," I whispered and then glanced at Jake. "I'm sorry."

I felt both of their hands graze my arm, but I wiggled myself out and tried to get lost in the crowd. I didn't want them to find me. So I hurried away to find another glass or bottle to drink from. Why do we have to fall for people we can't have? It's probably the worst quality of a human being because it's something you can't control. Love makes you do crazy things. It brings the worst out of you. It is painful because you're either both in the game or not. And I felt like I was the only one who was playing.

"Haley," I heard Peyton call out.

I quickly turned around and spotted her blonde curls approaching me quickly. I turned back and noticed a bottle of wine just hanging around on someone's table. No one was sitting there, they were probably dancing, and so I snatched it and searched for the nearest exit.

As I fought my way through people, I spotted Olivia and Jim sitting at a table. She lightly patted Jim's shoulder and started to laugh. He looked like he was telling her a joke. It was either funny or Olivia was flirting back. Jim smiled and placed his hand on her hand. And they stared at each other for a second and I literally saw her cheeks turn pink. At least Olivia was having a good time tonight. If anybody had to have a lovely night, I'm glad it was Olivia. She's been sick lately and she deserved to spend a night with the man she liked.

Luckily Jim didn't hesitate to show his feelings. Why couldn't guys be like that? You know old fashioned and sweet? No one courts anyone these days. It almost seems like the girls have to do all the chasing around here. What happened to sweet phone calls, chocolates, and flowers? What about love letters and surprises? Nothing's like that now unless you're already in the relationship. But maybe it does happen, just not to me.

I unscrewed the bottle of alcohol and pulled it to my lips, taking a quick swig. I glanced at them one last time and turned around to find the nearest exit.

The alcohol was slowly blurring my vision and I had no control of my body anymore. I started losing my balance as I fought through the crowd. I took one step and I quickly fell to the floor, the bottle breaking beside me. When I tried to get up, I accidentally pressed my hand on a piece of glass and I squinted from the little pain I was able to feel. I was too numb to feel the pain, but when I felt someone grabbing me by the waist, I quickly slapped them off me.

"Are you okay?" the guy asked. I turned around and pushed him away from me. I didn't need anyone's help right now.

"Don't touch me!" I snapped.

"I'm just trying to help you," he said.

"I don't need anyone," I said, stepping around the pieces of glass and leaving my mess there. I found another bottle and stepped out of the crowded place.

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Nathan's POV.

Even though I came here with another girl – who was somehow wrapped around my arm right now – I couldn't stop thinking about her. I was devastated when she said that she was going to the ball with someone else. Not just anybody. She was going with Jake. He was one of my good friends and I never expected him to ask her. I knew that they were becoming friends, but I didn't suspect that he liked her. And that really pissed me off because he should've told me. Haley was in my life now, and I thought it was pretty obvious that I was interested in her.

"Do you want to dance?" Zoey asked. I looked away from the crowd and glanced at her.

"Maybe later," I answered, turning back to the crowd to find her. The last time I saw Haley she was by the bar, snatching a few glasses. She looked really upset. I knew it was because of me. I came here with Zoey of all people. I told her that I didn't like her that way, but I did it to see how she reacted. Not to torture her, but to see if she felt the same way about me.

"Later? We only danced once all night," Zoey complained.

"Well there weren't any good songs," I said.

"They had plenty of good songs. They just played Lady Gaga," I heard Zoey say.

I sighed deeply. The reason why I wasn't dancing was because I didn't want to dance with Zoey. The whole time I was waiting for a song that Haley would listen to so I could politely ask her to dance with me. I was sure since Jake was one of my good friends, he would've let me dance with her. But I couldn't find her anywhere.

"I hate Lady Gaga," I said, browsing around to find her beautiful figure in the crowd. When I first saw her in that lacy white dress, I never thought she looked any more stunning. The color brought out her soft tan skin and her hair framed her face so flawlessly. The dress outlined her curves so perfectly and it made me want her more. She almost looked angelic in the light. And I was mad that I wasn't the first one to see her like that.

"I can't believe you just said that," Zoey stated. I ignored her and finally found Peyton standing by Jake. Right beside Jake was Haley. She looked a little tipsy by the way she moved. I noticed his hand against the small of her back and I cringed.

I watched them carefully. It looked as if Peyton and Haley were arguing about something. I noticed that Haley placed her hand against her chest and started to shake her head. She stepped back a little and stumbled on the person behind her and left. Immediately, I wanted to jump up and find her. I wanted to know where she was going so I could see her.

"Are you listening to me, Nathan?" Zoey asked.

"What?"

"I was talking to you and apparently you weren't."

"Sorry," I apologized as I tried to keep my eyes in the crowd. I heard a faint crash near the exit and I spotted her leaving the tent. That's when I knew that I had to catch her. "I'm going to go to the restroom," I said, standing up and walking away without listening to anything that came out of Zoey's mouth.

I quickly ran through the crowd, dodging people as they past and danced to the music. Peyton and Jake were no where in sight. They were probably looking for her as well. But I still wanted to find her. I needed to see her. I wanted to apologize and tell her that Zoey didn't' mean anything to me.

When I stepped out of the tent, I saw a little figure sitting on the grass watching the Festival across from us. The Ferris wheel was huge compared to her. But she looked beautiful anyways. As I was walking up to her slowly, I noticed that she had a bottle in her hand. I shook my head and realized that I had driven her to drink.

"Nathan?" I heard someone call out from the entrance. I turned around and found Peyton standing there.

"Yeah?"

"You caused that," she said, nodding her head towards the small figure on the grass.

I looked back at Haley and saw that she was looking at us. And then she slowly turned away, looking back at the Ferris wheel.

"I know," I answered.

"Go fix it," she advised.

I followed her order and started making my way towards her. I had my hands in my pockets and finally found myself settling down next to her petite self.

"Hey you," I greeted. Her eyes were red and puffy when I glanced at her. I knew she had been crying. Her mascara was smeared below them and I reached over to wipe it off with my thumb.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, nervously looking at me as I rubbed her cheek. "Aren't you supposed to be with Zoey?" She didn't' take one glance at me.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," I said. She was looking down, holding her hand. I noticed that it was bleeding and she was wincing at the same time. I pulled away from her cheek and quickly took her hand in mine. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" she snapped. "I fell on a piece of glass, it's nothing."

I lightly pressed on it and I heard her squeal a little bit. "It's deep." I quickly tore a piece of my shirt off and gently grabbed her hand and wrapped it around her cut.

"OW!" she cried. "Stop that!"

"You need to put pressure on it to keep it from bleeding," I advised, finally tying the fabric in a knot. I could see the blood seeping through and I held it for a while.

"There," I said. She looked down at her hand and slowly turned it around. She glanced at me and I could see how tragic they looked. She quickly turned away and returned to the bottle she had beside her.

I watched her pull it towards her lips and I grabbed it out of her hand. "I think you had enough for tonight."

"Give me that!" she whined, reaching for it. I pushed her away from it and I threw the bottle out onto the grass and broke it. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I don't like seeing you like this," I said, looking at her frustrated.

"Like it matters," she pouted.

"You can't change your personality over night, you know."

"My personality hasn't changed."

"So you've always had an alcohol addiction?" I asked. She glanced at me and shot me a dark look. "I'm just worried about you, Haley."

"Stop worrying about me," she snapped. When I saw her face, all I could see was the pain that I caused. I did this to her. I didn't' want to be the guy that caused her any anguish. I didn't want to be one of the guys who hurt her. After she told me the stories of her past boyfriends, it surprised me to see how broken she really was. The thought of someone touching her and forcing her to do something she didn't want to do, made me angry. How could anyone do that to Haley? My Haley. I would never lie and cheat on her. She's become so important to me since she arrived. She's all that I could think about it these days. She made my stomach flip flop when she was around. I hadn't felt that way in years. And I really didn't want to lose her now before anything even started.

"I have to be," I said.

"You shouldn't have to," she whispered. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I can see that you're doing a great job at that," I replied, looking at her wound.

She didn't say anything. She shook her head and licked her lips before she started to speak again. "Please leave," she said. "I don't want you here."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said.

"Then I'm leaving." She attempted to stand up quickly, but her balance was off. She fell a few times before she finally found her stance. It wasn't long until I found myself catching up to her. This was not the Haley I knew. I've seen her a little tipsy before, but this was a different side of her. I never wanted to see her this way again.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Home," she answered.

"You can't go home, Haley, Jake brought you here." She didn't say anything. Stopped in her tracks and focused her attention across the yard towards a couple holding hands and kissing.

"I am supposed to be mad at you," she cried turning to me, slurring her words as tears fell down her cheeks. "I am angry and mad! You can't be here!" Her voice started to get louder. She looked confused as she was saying these words. I was curious to know what was going on in her head right now. I know that she wasn't thinking straight because of all the alcohol, but I felt like she was holding something back. "I hate you for making me feel so . . . stupid. I hate you!"

"No you don't," I said, coming closer to her and bringing her in my arms.

"Yes I do!" she responded, pushing away from me, but she was too weak so I grabbed her. "I hate you!" She started punching me as she spoke. And I'm going to be honest, it hurt to hear her say that, but I wasn't going to believe it.

I pulled her tighter to me and embraced her in my arms to keep her still. "I know you don't hate me, Haley. Okay, you don't." I whispered, holding her head against my chest. I caressed her curly hair between my fingers and I felt her breath through my shirt. And then I heard her mumble I hate you again until she started to cry.

-------

Haley's POV.

My emotions were overwhelming. I couldn't control them anymore. I wanted so bad to show him how angry I was. He showed up to the dance with another girl. I didn't do anything to him to deserve this breakdown. He was the one who caused the ache inside my chest. I have the right to be angry, right? I don't even have to be his girlfriend to feel heartbroken.

But here I am, against his chest and his arms wrapped around me as I cried. Out of everyone in here, the guy I was supposed to be mad at is the one who is trying to comfort me. And I felt so safe in his arms. I said I hated him. I said it more than once, but he didn't believe me. I was trying to say it with meaning, but deep inside I knew I was lying. I didn't hate him one bit. That's what's so hard about this situation. No matter how hard you try to hate that one guy, you still had feelings for him.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he whispered, rubbing his hand against my arm. "I was a dick to you. I was mad that you were coming here with Jake instead of me. So I brought Zoey here to make you angry, but now I regret it because I don't like seeing you this way."

I didn't say anything as he spoke. I was still against his chest as he held me. I felt his hand comb through my hair. The alcohol was starting to kick in and I felt myself fading out. I knew that I wasn't going to remember this in the morning. Good thing that Nathan was here instead of someone else. I don't know what I would've done with myself if I passed out here and someone took advantage of me.

"Haley?" I heard him say but then everything started to fade. "I'm going to bring you home," he said and he led me towards his car. From there, everything was a blur.

The next thing I know, I was hearing voices. I don't know where these voices were coming from until I opened my eyes and found myself in Olivia's living room. The sun was beaming directly out of the window and I strained my eyes.

"Oh thank you, Nathan," Olivia said. Nathan? I slowly sat up on the couch and suddenly felt my brain pounding against my skull. I looked down at my outfit and noticed that I still had my dress on. I touched my head in attempt to stop my headache, but that wasn't working and I noticed that my hair was a mess. Then I heard clanking noises from the kitchen across from me and it hurt my head like hell.

I sat up from the couch and looked at my hand. My palm was wrapped in a white piece of fabric with a bloody stain. It took a while for me to remember how this happened and I shook my head at the memory. I couldn't feel the pain then, but I could feel every pain on my body right now.

As I crept inside the kitchen, I saw Olivia flipping a pancake over the stove. She turned her head to me and smiled. I did the same. Then I looked over by the breakfast table and saw Nathan pouring a pan full of hash browns on a plate.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at them curiously.

Nathan looked up and immediately smiled. "Hey, are you feeling better?"

I gave him a look, wondering what happened the rest of the night. Everything wasn't clear enough for me to remember. "My head hurts," I answered.

Olivia stepped away from the stove and came over to embrace me. "That's why we decided to cook you breakfast. Nathan was nice enough to stay here to keep an eye on you."

Nathan stayed here? All night? Hopefully I didn't snore. Of all things that I should be upset about it, I was hoping that I didn't' snore? I supposed to be mad at him. Or not? I don't even know.

"Gram, I want to apologize if I did anything last night to embarrass you," I said.

"You don't need to. No one really paid attention anyways since you weren't the only one drinking," she smiled. "Now come sit down, eat your food."

I bit my lip and found my place at the table. Olivia turned her back to us and I looked up at Nathan as he sat down across from me. I tried to observe his face to find a clue to this whole morning. He started adding hash browns to his plate and two eggs. I noticed that he was still wearing the same outfit from his yesterday. There was a torn part and I connected it with my hand. Then he finally glanced up.

"What are you doing here?" I mouthed.

"You don't remember?" he replied.

I shook my head as he handed me the plate full of eggs. I only took one and then put a ton of hash browns beside it. Hopefully we didn't do anything last night. I will punch him in the face if he took advantage of me.

I heard the sound of the stove turn off and Olivia came over with the plate of pancakes. Nathan and I didn't continue our conversation because it seemed like something did happen and I had no clue what it was. Obviously Nathan didn't want to talk about it in front of Olivia. So we started to eat.

We discussed her date with Jim. She said that she had the best time. I knew that she did because I remember watching them. They looked really happy. It had been a very long time since she dated. I wasn't surprised since she was insanely in love with Grandpa. But it's never too late to love again. When I looked at her smile, I felt like I was watching a school girl having her first crush. It was adorable.

Then soon enough we finished our meal and I helped pick up the dishes. I turned on the faucet, poured a little bit of soap on the sponge and started cleaning the plates. Nathan stayed behind me and wiped the table. I was nervous to talk about last night. I knew that I was a wreck. I was mad that he found me that way, but I couldn't stay mad for that long. I left the place to be on my own that night because I didn't want anyone especially Nathan to see me self- destruct. I was glad that he found me though. I don't know what else I would've done if he hadn't brought me home. I would've gotten more than a wound on my hand.

"How were the hash browns?" he asked, throwing the dish towel over the sink beside me. I turned off the faucet and placed one of the plates in the dry rack.

"Good," I answered, pulling a few sheets of paper towel from the roll to dry my hands. I glanced around the kitchen to see if Olivia was still here. She probably went upstairs to get ready for the day.

He nodded and didn't say anything. I could tell that he was trying to find a way to bring up last night again. I walked away from the sink and threw the paper towels in the basket and leaned against the counter.

"Haley, in case you didn't remember," he said, leaning against the counter adjacent to me with his arms crossed. "I'm sorry. I know that I hurt you last night by bringing Zoey. It was wrong of me."

"Okay," I said. I couldn't say anything more than that because I was still afraid to tell him how I felt.

"Okay? That's it?" he asked. "Nothing else you want to say?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head. "No," I said.

"I'm not clueless, Haley!" he said. "I know you weren't mad at me because I found someone else to bring to the ball."

"Then why was I mad?"

"Because I didn't bring you," he answered.

I scoffed. "You think you know me that well, huh?" I asked, angrily.

"Yes, I think so," he nodded. "You need to stop holding everything inside. I know it's killing you. I can tell, Haley."

"I'm not holding anything in!" I lied; confused by the way he was talking to me like he knew what was going on in my mind.

"You're lying again!" he stated. He stepped closer to me. His face was now softer than before. "Do you want to know what you said to me last night?" he asked.

I tried to collect my thoughts from it. It was hard to figure out. I knew that he found me outside and I told him to leave; I remember that part. Then I remembered walking away and saying that I hated him. Was that it? Everything after that was hazy.

"I said I hated you?" I replied.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "You said you loved me," he finished.

Immediately, my heart started to beat faster. My eyes widened from surprise and said, "What! When?"

"Last night when I brought you home," he replied.

"No, I couldn't have said that." I shook my head lightly and tensed up. "There's no way I could've said that. I was drunk, Nathan, I had no control!"

"That's the point," he replied. "You control everything you say and do, and for the first time in a while, you finally exposed what's really been bothering you," continued.

"That's not possible," I said, stepping aside. "I didn't say that!" I couldn't have said that. I hate the fact that I didn't remember saying it. Those three words were hard to say when sober. I can't believe I said it to him. I love him? No, it's too early to say that or feel that way for a person. I am getting confused right now. My heart was racing, my palms were sweating, and the blood was rushing up my cheeks. I had no control.

"But you did," he said, walking closer to me. "When you said you hated me I told you I didn't believe it, but I believed this."

I looked up at him and noticed how close he was to me now. "I chose the wrong words," I said softly. He chuckled as I felt him take my hand in his – the one that didn't have the wound. He pulled it to his lips and kissed the inside of it. I stood still as I watched him. "What are you doing?" I said breathlessly.

"I know you don't love me yet, but at least I know how you feel about me," he said, slowly caressing my cheek like he did the other day. My stomach started to flutter at the feel o f his touch. His calloused fingers smoothed over my skin and I looked at his beautiful blue-green orbs. Our gaze locked and I felt him getting closer to me. I lightly closed my eyes when I felt his lips against mine. I stepped closer and pressed mine harder on his. His fingers tangled themselves in my hair and I did the same. It was one of those kisses that beat all kisses grouped together. He didn't go any further to push me away. He was gentle but passionate. Everything that I had felt for him ignited in the little space between our occupied lips.

And I couldn't believe he was kissing me. He wasn't kissing some blondie at a party. He wasn't kissing an ex-girlfriend. And he was definitely not kissing Zoey. He was kissing me- Haley James. And suddenly everything surrounding us didn't exist anymore. It was only me and him.

R&R