I hit a patch of writer's block. Well, I guess it wasn't exactly writer's block. I have this entire story planned out and I know what I want to happen but what I had in my head wasn't translating well into words. Everything that I was writing just felt like absolute crap. It wasn't flowing well and my backspace button definitely got a work out. It could have been me just being hard on myself but I find it hard to post something when I'm not at least 75% happy with it. I put a lot of effort it my stories and I want to post my best work for you guys, not my mediocre work. I'm still not extremely happy with the way this chapter turned out. I don't want to say that it's boring because it seems that every time I say that, you all disagree but in my eyes, it's quite boring. I tried to make Jake and Lucas kind of a comical relief in this chapter but I'm not entirely sure how well I did with that, haha. There isn't a ton of Naley in this chapter but there are some conversations that happen in this chapter that are vital to the plot. The amount of Naley action does pick up immensely after this.

Also, before anyone says anything, Damien's motives/plan is nothing like Ian's in Razor Sharp. After reading this chapter, you might think I am heading in that direction and it might seem like that a few times through out this story, but I can guarantee you that I am not.

Haley's eyes scanned the worn pages of John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday. It was one of her favorite books, which could easily be corroborated by the amount of dog-eared pages and the deteriorating spine. Ever since she could pick up a book, she loved to read. She loved everything from older literature and memoirs to mysteries and romances. Reading was her escape from whatever drama had invaded her actual life and right now, an escape was exactly what she needed.

She couldn't stop thinking about what happened between her and Nathan the previous night. It was starting to drive her crazy. Every time she closed her eyes, all she saw was his face. The intense way he was looking at her was going to be embedded in her memory for all eternity, she was sure of it. She couldn't stop thinking about how to felt to feel his skin against hers. His fingertips had barely brushed against the skin on the back of her neck, yet she swore she could feel him everywhere.

She thought for sure that he was going to kiss her. His eyes continuously fluttered between her lips and her eyes. She could have sworn his eyes took on a much darker shade when her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. Never in her life had she wanted someone to kiss her as much as she did in that moment. But instead of doing what she so desperately wanted him to do, he demanded that she stay away from him.

His cold words still echoed in her ears like a mindless chant.

Instead of being turned off by his words, she found herself even more intrigued. She had even more questions now. Questions that were only driving her crazy because she knew there was no way in hell Nathan would ever answer them. So, there she was, stuffing her nose in a book and trying her hardest to forget everything that involved Nathan Scott, for the sake of her sanity.

The cafe she was sitting in was just the calming atmosphere that she needed. It was scarcely populated with an older couple eating in a booth against the window and a middle aged man drinking a cup of coffee at the counter. The walls were painted a pale yellow, with oiled paintings encased in maple wood frames hanging on the walls. There was a gray couch in the corner and a bookshelf overflowing with books adjacent to it. A small woman with dark hair and an infectious smile was standing behind the counter, humming a beautiful melody. Haley assumed she was Karen, the owner of the cafe.

Everything was peaceful until…

"I am never ever, ever, drinking again," Brooke groaned loudly as she slid into the seat of the booth that was across from Haley. She was slouching, her head resting on the palm of her hand.

Haley sighed, placing her book face down on the granite table top. "Well, good morning to you, too, Brooke."

"My head feels like there is a mariachi band playing inside of it," Brooke complained further. She was wearing a dark pair of sunglasses and Haley was positive Brooke was still wearing her clothes from the night before.

"Jesus, Brooke, how much did you drink?" Haley asked, folding her arms across her chest and sitting back in the booth.

Brooke shrugged. "I don't have a clue. I blacked out. The last thing I remember was making out with Julian and Peyton yelling at us to get a room."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "Does this happen often?"

"Oh, yeah. Every single time Julian and I make out, Peyton always bitches. It's become a running joke between all of us."

Haley shook her head, giggling softly. "I meant the blacking out part, not the making out part."

"Oh," Brooke muttered. "Then, no, not really. It's just an occasional thing."

"That can't be healthy."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Probably not. But enough about me, where did you disappear to last night? You said you were going to get some air and then just never came back."

Haley shifted uncomfortably against the leather of the booth. She could lie, but what exactly was her purpose for lying? It wasn't that big of a deal, she had to remind herself. "Oh, uh, Nathan ended up walking me back home. Curfew and all that."

Brooke perked up at that. "Nathan? As in Nathan Scott?"

"Is there any other Nathans in Tree Hill?" Haley asked with furrowed eyebrows. It seemed like every time she mentioned Nathan, someone always had to ask for clarification.

"Well, no. It's just bizarre to hear about Nathan hanging around someone other than Lucas and Jake," Brooke explained as she removed the sunglasses from her face. "You guys have been hanging out a lot."

Haley shook her head, her cheeks dusted a light pink. "We haven't been hanging out. We've only talked a handful of times."

"Which is more than most people in this town can say," Brooke pointed out. "I know I was messing around with you about it at first, but in all seriousness, do you like him?"

Brooke's question caught Haley off guard. Her heartbeat accelerated as she looked down, avoiding Brooke's questioning eyes. Her hands dropped into her lap, her fingers nervously picking at the skin around her nails. She had only known Brooke a little over week but she was already proving to be a really good friend.

"I don't know if 'like' is the right word," Haley answered honestly. "I'm just drawn to him, I guess."

"So you like boys with a little bit of mystery?" Brooke teased, her lips curving up into a smirk. When Haley shrugged, Brooke's expression fell serious. "Look, I don't know much about Nathan. I don't think I've ever even said a word to him. All I know is the stuff that I hear about him through the rumor mill and the things I've heard, well, let's just say they aren't good."

"If you're going to tell me to be careful, you can save it," Haley said gently as she lifted her head back up to meet Brooke's gaze.

Brooke cracked a smile. "Yes, I was going to tell you to be careful but I was also going to tell you to go for it. You're the first girl that Nathan hasn't sent away, that's gotta mean something and if I were you, I'd take advantage of it."

"Really?" Haley asked incredulously.

"Definitely," Brooke confirmed.

"Brooke, your order's ready!" Karen called, placing a brown paper bag full of food down on the counter.

"Well, that's my cue. Peyton and I are having a movie day. You should stop by later, after you're done being a nerd. Seriously, Tutor Girl, who reads on a Saturday?" Brooke teased, her nose crinkling in disgust towards the book in front of Haley.

Haley just shook her head. "I'll think about it."

~x~

"I'm telling you, Luke, Nathan's smitten by her, even if he doesn't want to admit it yet," Jake insisted. They were on their way to Karen's Cafe and this was the only time Jake could talk to Lucas about this. It was rare when they hung out and Nathan wasn't around.

"Smitten?" Lucas asked with a laugh. "I don't think anyone has been smitten by anyone since the 1950's."

Jake rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. You should have seen him. The way he looked at her, they way he smiled...there's something there. And then when I talked to him after he came back from the party? He immediately went into protective mode. He started talking about how she was too good and how he couldn't drag her into his life. I saw that look in his eye."

Lucas angled his body to face Jake. "Are you sure you're talking about my brother?"

"I'm dead serious."

Lucas sighed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "You know he'll never go for it. Even if he does feel something for her, he'll bury it until it's long forgotten."

"That's what I'm worried about," Jake confessed. "I know a girl isn't going to solve all of his problems, but I think it might be a start. I have a good feeling about her."

Lucas took in Jake's words as he walked up to the door of his mom's cafe. Holding the door open for Jake, he walked in and immediately smiled at his mother. "Hey, mom! Smells good in here."

Karen looked up from the register she was balancing and smiled at her son. "Good morning, Lucas, Jake. Where's Nathan?"

"He was still asleep when I left," Lucas answered as he slid into one of the stools located around the counter, Jake followed suit.

Karen smiled sadly, her hand reaching over to grasp Lucas'. She could see the worry etched in both Lucas' and Jake's face. It was wearing them down. "You're doing a the best that you can, Luke. You both are."

"Thanks, mom."

"That's what I'm here for," Karen said, giving Lucas a pat on the hand before pulling away. "Well, listen, you boys are welcome to anything in the kitchen. I've got to take this money to the bank. Cheryl's here today so she'll deal with the customers."

"Sounds good."

Once Karen was out of earshot, Jake began talking again. "I know I keep saying this and I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I wish there was something we could do."

Lucas nodded at Jake while scanning the occupants of the cafe. He paused as soon as he saw Haley. She was sitting in a booth across the way from where they were sitting, a book in her hands. When he saw the book she was reading, an idea popped into his head. "There is something we can do but it's kind of devious."

"And what would that be?"

"We meddle," Lucas stated, turning to face Jake. He nodded his head in the direction of Haley.

Jake glanced at Haley before looking back at Lucas, his eyebrow raised. "What did you have in mind?"

Lucas smirked as he explained his plan to Jake. It was a stretch, it was kind of forward, and it could definitely blow up in their faces, especially with Nathan's unpredictable moods, but it was all they had.

"Do you think she'll go for it?" Jake muttered.

Lucas shrugged. "I have no idea, but it wouldn't hurt to try. The worst thing that could happen is that she says that she has plans or she decides to come with us and Nathan blows up because she's in our apartment."

"This is a terrible idea."

"I think it's genius," Lucas declared while getting up from the stool. "Wish me luck."

Jake shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Good luck, man."

Stealthily, Lucas headed over to where Haley was sitting. If he were being honest, he was a little nervous about what he was about to do. Clearing his throat, he wiped his hands on his jeans and walked until he was standing directly in front of her table. "Steinbeck, huh?"

Haley jumped at the sound of his voice. She head successfully lost herself within the words of her book and wasn't expecting an interruption. Her stomach did a flip when she realized it was Lucas Scott standing in front of her. "Uh, yeah. He's one of my favorite authors."

"Mine too," Lucas said with a smile. "Of Mice and Men is my favorite book of all time.

"Oh, yeah, it's a classic," Haley mumbled. She was unsure of why exactly Lucas was talking to her and it was a little unnerving.

"I'm Lucas Scott," He said as he slid into the other side of the booth. "You're Haley, right?"

She nodded. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I never would have guessed that you read Steinbeck."

"Why? Because I play basketball?" Lucas asked with a smirk.

"Well, yeah," Haley admitted sheepishly. "I have this bad habit of making assumptions about people, I guess."

"Oh, I love literature. If this whole basketball thing doesn't work out, that's what I'll probably study," Lucas informed her.

"I've thought about studying literature," Haley muttered, her fingers picking at the edge of her book. She instantly found that talking to Lucas was easy. He was a lot warmer than his brother and definitely a lot more open. Once again, she found herself wondering what exactly had happened to Nathan that made him so drastically different than his brother. "But, I'm not sure it's something I could see myself making a career out of."

"You know, I have a set of first edition Steinbeck's," Lucas announced, shifting the conversation back to his original plan.

Haley's eyes widened at that. "You're kidding!"

Lucas shook his head. "Nope. My dad bought them for me for my sixteenth birthday. Most sixteen year old boys want a car, but nope, I wanted a set of books."

"That's incredible," Haley gasped. "I've been looking for a first edition Steinbeck forever. Most of the ones I find are either counterfeit or outrageously priced."

"My dad knew some trader or something," Lucas explained, smiling inwardly. This was going a lot better than he thought it would. "Do you want to see them? They're signed, stamped, and everything."

"If you wouldn't mind?" Haley asked with an excited smile. Okay, so call her a nerd, but first edition books by her favorite author were hardly something she could pass up. She wasn't lying when she said that she'd been looking for a first edition. All thoughts of it being kind of weird talking to Lucas immediately flew out the window.

"Not at all," Lucas assured her. "I just have to get Jake and then we can go."

When Haley nodded, Lucas slipped out of the booth and walked over to Jake with a proud smile on his face. "Phase one, complete."

"That did not just work," Jake exclaimed, his mouth agape.

"Oh, yes it did. And if I know Nathan as well as I think I do, he got up for a run about ten minutes ago and should be heading back to the apartment within the next half hour," Lucas said with a twinkle in his eye.

"We're diabolical."

"Anything for love."

~x~

Nathan's feet pounded hard against the asphalt, the music blaring loudly through his headphones. His black t-shirt was sticking to his body, the sweat pouring down his face. It was an unusually hot day in Tree Hill for the fall. The sun was blazing and the humidity made it hard to breathe. These conditions didn't bother Nathan, though. He welcomed the heat. He relished in it.

Running was the only thing he could do to get rid of all the frustration and tension that had worked its way into his body. He couldn't go to the River Court because that place was tainted with images of her. He could still remember the way it felt to have his hands on her hips or the way the wind blew the scent of vanilla in his face when he tried to show her how to shoot a basketball. Hell, every time he closed his eyes all he saw was her brown eyes staring back at him.

It didn't help matters that he had that same stupid dream again.

She was officially driving him crazy. He thought that by forcing her away from him, he would also be able to force her out of his thoughts. She was just a girl, just some stupid girl. He had been around hundreds of girls in his lifetime and had no problem ignoring them or forgetting that they existed. Why was she any different? Because she's kind, she actually seems interested in what you have to say, and she's the first person outside of Jake and Luke that has tried to break past the walls that you've locked yourself up in.

Apparently, he was wrong when he thought running would help him clear his head.

Nathan slowed down his run as he neared the edge of the dock. His muscles were cramping and his lungs were burning, just like the way he loved to feel after running. He pulled the headphones out of his ears and hung them over his neck. Placing his hands on the wooden fence surrounding the dock, he tried to regain control on his breathing.

"Well, well, would ya look who it is," Damien's voice came from behind him.

Nathan felt the the tension in his body rise to unbelievable heights, his fingers digging into the wood. It was amazing how quickly Nathan's emotions changed when Damien was around. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with you today, West."

Damien walked until he was standing beside Nathan. Leaning his elbows against the wood, he looked out and into the water. He squinted his eyes in the sun, the water radiating a blinding glare. "Always so hostile. You know, things really don't have to be this way. We used to be friends, don't you remember?"

Nathan swallowed hard. "No."

Damien straightened his posture, his hand reaching out to touch Nathan's shoulder. "Oh, come on, you remember all those nights we used to spend in my backyard, getting wasted and getting high?"

Nathan shook his head, yanking his shoulder away from Damien's hand. "Do you have a reason for continuously harassing me or did you just run out of people to pay to be your friend?"

Damien clicked his tongue, his expression hardening. "I tried to be nice to you, but I guess since you want it your way, I'll just cut to the chase. You still owe me."

Nathan's head snapped up at that, the bewilderment clear on his face."Owe you?"

Damien nodded. "What? Did you think that we were even because of what happened to mommy and daddy dearest?"

Nathan looked away, his lips pressed into a hard line. His fists clenched and he swore his blood pressure sky rocketed. He didn't like where this conversation was going, not in the slightest.

"Oh, you did? That's cute, Nate," Damien falsely cooed. "We're never going to be even until you pay me back all the money you owe me."

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows, the anger burning through his veins like a rampant wild fire. He licked his lips before turning to face Damien. The venom in his voice was practically palpable. "You mean to tell me that setting my house on fire and killing both of my parents wasn't enough for you?"

Damien raised his hands, his palms facing outwards. "Now, in my defense, that wasn't supposed to happen. The fire was just supposed to be a warning. It's not my fault that they got trapped inside."

"You're unbelievable," Nathan muttered as he turned his back. He couldn't stand being there for another second. His heart was racing and his hands were shaking with rage. They were on a public street. The last thing Nathan needed was to pummel Damien into the ground and then get the cops called on him.

"No, what I am is very pissed off. You still owe me thousands of dollars, Nate. Shit like that just doesn't go away," Damien yelled after Nathan's retreating figure.

Nathan paused and glanced over his shoulder. "I don't owe you shit."

~x~

"You live in apartment? By yourself?" Haley asked, her mouth slightly agape. When Lucas said the books were back at his place, she assume that they would be heading to a house or maybe even an apartment that he shared with his mom, not this. What eighteen year old who was still in high school could afford an apartment?

It wasn't a luxury apartment by any means, but it was still quite large and comfy. The kitchen and living room area were seated next to each with no dividers. The counter-tops were granite and the cupboards were stained wood. A large flat screen TV rested on top of a chestnut brown entertainment center and the couch was a dark tan leather. The walls were cream and the entire kitchen was hardwood. Not to mention, all of the appliances were stainless steel.

"Actually, I don't live by myself," Lucas corrected her as he headed back into his room. Reaching up into his closet, he grabbed the box of books before heading back to where Haley and Jake were. "Nathan's my roommate."

Haley's heartbeat accelerated at the mention of Nathan. Her throat felt dry and she loudly cleared her throat as she seated herself on a bar stool. So, two eighteen year old boys lived in an apartment, by themselves. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe Nathan was home. How would he react if she was there? She couldn't imagine his reaction being a good one considering…

Lucas plopped the dusty box on the counter and began to brush it off. "I bet you're probably wondering how we can afford to live in this place."

"To be honest, yeah, a little," Haley admitted as she gnawed on her bottom lip with the blunt edge of her teeth.

"They're drug dealers," Jake joked from the couch, causing Haley to giggle.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Ignore him." He rested his arms on top of the brown and blue box before continuing. "Well, I'm sure that you've heard about the death of Nathan's parents."

Haley nodded.

"Well, Nathan's dad was also my dad."

"I'm really sorry for your loss," Haley quickly cut in.

Lucas smiled genuinely at her. "Thank- you. Anyway, our dad left us each a lump some of his savings and then donated the rest of it to charity."

"Oh," Haley mumbled. "Your mom was the owner of the cafe I was at, right?"

"That would be her."

Haley began to nervously twirl her fingers around each other. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened with your parents?"

Lucas sighed. "Honestly, it's such a boring story, I wouldn't want to bother you with it."

Haley shook her head. "You wouldn't be. I want to know. I wouldn't have asked otherwise." If she wasn't going to get answers out of the other brother, she was going to take advantage of the brother who was going to give her answers.

Lucas walked around to the side of the counter that Haley was sitting on and hopped on to the stool that was next to her. "My parents dated pretty much all of high school but broke up right before their graduation. It wasn't anything that major, they just realized that they wanted different things and the spark just wasn't there anymore, or something like that. My mom didn't find out that she was pregnant with me until she was about four months. She didn't have any symptoms, I guess. By that time, my dad had already started dating Nathan's mom, and surprise, she was a month pregnant."

Haley's eyes widened. "That's crazy...like actually crazy."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah, kind of. There was some tension between my mom and Deb for awhile. Plus, I couldn't imagine how my dad felt during that time, considering he got two different girls pregnant. Whenever I asked my mom how her and Deb got so close, she just says that they bonded over their children."

"Wow," Haley exclaimed. And she thought coming from a family of seven kids was strange.

"We weren't the most conventional family," Lucas muttered. "But we made it work. Now, enough about me, let's look at these books."

While Haley and Lucas gushed over the first edition Steinbeck books, Jake got up from the couch to look out the window. His eyes widened when he saw Nathan jogging down the pathway across from the apartment complex. If Lucas wanted to perfect his plan, they needed to get out of there and fast. Quickly, he dug his phone out of his pocket and pretended to be looking at a text.

"Uh, Luke, my sister is apparently having car trouble out by South Riverbend. Her car just like stopped running or something," Jake blurted out, trying to make his voice sound as panicked as possible. "Do you think you could come with me? You are the car expert, after all."

It didn't take more than a second for Lucas to catch on. "Oh, yeah, sure. Let me just grab my car keys."

Haley placed the book that she was looking at down and began to slide out of the stool she was sitting in. "I guess that would be my cue to leave as well."

"No," Lucas quickly protested. "Stay and enjoy the books. This won't take long at all."

Haley's forehead crinkled in confusion."Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. I trust that you won't rob us or anything. Besides, we should only be gone twenty minutes at the most," Lucas rushed out as he and Jake scooted out the front door.

Haley watched in utter confusion as they seemed to bolt out of the apartment. It was odd to her that they felt comfortable with leaving a complete stranger in their apartment, unattended. Not that she was a thief or anything, but she could easily take anything that she wanted. It felt weird for her to be there, too. In retrospect, she probably should have left as soon as Lucas and Jake did, but she really wanted to look more at the Steinbeck books. Who knows if she were to ever get a chance like this again?

Deciding to just stay a few more minutes to look over the books, she hopped off the stool and reached into the box to grab another book. It was while she was skimming through the pages that something at the bottom of the box caught her eye. Reaching further into the box, she grabbed on to the stack of pictures that were banded together by what looked like a hair-tie. She knew that she should have put the pictures away and went back to looking at the books, but after seeing what the first picture was, she couldn't put them down.

It was a picture of Nathan surrounded by two people who she assumed were his parents. He looked a lot younger, thirteen, maybe fourteen years old. He was wearing a light blue Nike shirt and he had the biggest smile on his face. It was almost inhuman to see him smiling as big as he was. There was a petite blonde woman standing next to him, a bright smile on her face, her arm wrapped around his shoulder and her head leaning against his. She was dressed nicely, in a pink blouse and grey trousers. The man on the other side of Nathan towered over him and his arm hovering over Nathan's shoulders to grip the woman. His medium brown hair fell in his eyes. He was also smiling. The shirt he was wearing matched Nathan's, only it was green instead of blue.

They looked like a perfectly happy family. Haley's heart both warmed and broke at the sight. Nathan looked close to the both of them, like he was just a kid who loved his parent's deeply. She swallowed hard as she stared at Nathan in the picture. He looked so happy and it was the complete opposite of how he looked now. That alone was enough to break her heart.

She was just about to flip to the next picture when she heard the front door to the apartment open and then close. Looking up, she about dropped the stack of pictures when she saw Nathan standing in the doorway. His back was to her and from where she was standing, it looked like he had headphones in. His hair looked slicked with sweat and his shirt looked damp. Her heart was racing in her chest and she felt the panic quickly rise up inside of her.

Unable to tear her eyes away from him, she watched as she pulled the headphones out of his ears and wrap them around his iPod, before stuffing it in the pocket of his shorts. Her eyes widened even further when he began to pull his shirt off and over his head. He clearly had no idea that she was standing there and she debated with herself over if she should make her presence known or not. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have to make that decision.

Nathan turned around and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Haley standing in his kitchen. His heart dropped to his stomach and he swore he felt his knees buckle. The first thing he noticed was how beautiful she looked, something he mentally cursed himself for. Her blonde hair fell in soft curls, framing her face in a way that was hell on the heart. She was wearing a pair of simple jeans and a plain black long sleeved shirt. He gulped.

This couldn't be happening right now. There was no way she was actually standing in his apartment. And if she was, this had to be some kind of sick joke. He had spent most of the day fighting to get her out of his and once again, there she was. After dealing with Damien, this was the last thing he needed. The part of all of this that frightened him the most was that he was more concerned about the fact that he had told her to stay away from him and she didn't listen than he was about the fact that she was standing in his apartment, unannounced.

Haley tried to keep her eyes on his face but it was proving to be impossible. He was standing in front of her without a shirt and holy shit, he was perfection. Every muscle on his body looked as if it were perfectly sculpted. He looked as if he had just stepped out of a catalog full of perfectly photo-shopped models. The sweat glistened and she swore there was no way he was real.

She didn't miss the deep scar that stretched across his upper chest. The deep pink skin caused a million more questions to pop in her head. Whatever had happened to him looked painful and she felt this sudden urge to comfort him. She wanted to brush her fingertips across his skin and somehow, magically take away any pain that he had ever felt.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan gritted out a lot harsher than he had intended.

Haley's stomach clenched at the cool tone of his voice. "Y-your brother invited me over to look at these books. He and J-Jake left a few minutes ago to help Jake's sister. Lucas said I could stay."

Nathan's jaw clenched, his fist wrapping tighter around the shirt he was holding. The fact that she seemed buddy-buddy with his brother didn't sit well with him. "Since when do you talk to Lucas?"

"Since today, I guess," She answered quietly. "I can leave, if you want."

Nathan took in a calming breath. It didn't surprise him when that voice in his head started to scream at him to tell her to leave. But he couldn't do that, she was here for Lucas, not him. Or so he reasoned with himself, but deep down he knew it was just his way of defying that stupid voice.

"It's fine," He bit out as he started to walk towards his room. The less time he was around her, the better. Albeit, he wasn't sure if being in a separate room was going to help any.

Haley felt as if someone had slapped her across the face. Nathan was a lot colder towards her than he was previously. She supposed that she shouldn't have been that surprised by that, considering not even twenty four hours ago he was telling her to stay away from him. There was a part of her that almost felt angry towards him. Where did he get off on treating her like this? She was well aware of what people said about his tendency to push people away, but that didn't mean she had to stand for it.

"Did I do something to upset you or make you angry?" She blurted out before she was fully aware of what she was saying. Her voice was quivering and she mentally cursed herself for it.

Nathan froze. "What?"

She took a step towards him as she spoke much firmer this time. "Did I do something to you to make you not want to be around me?"

Nathan chuckled dryly. "I tell you that you're better off if you stay away from me and you think there's something wrong with you?"

"What exactly do you mean I would be better off?" Haley pressed on.

Nathan tossed the shirt that was in his hand on the couch before running that same hand through his damp hair. He should just walk away and let her come up with her own assumptions, but it was like his feet were welded to the carpet. He let out a frustrated sigh before answering.

"I'm dangerous, Haley. I'm not a good person."

Haley stepped even closer to him as she shook her head. "I don't believe that." And she didn't. What she saw before her was someone who was broken. Someone who hit a rough patch in their life and was having a hard time digging their way out of the hole they were in. He needed help and she wanted to be the one to help him.

"Well, you should," Nathan barked. "I have a lot of fucked up issues that you don't need to get yourself roped up into."

Before Haley realized what she was doing, she was standing directly in front of him. She knew he was trying to scare her off, just like what he was trying to do the night before. Maybe she was stupid or maybe she believed too faithfully in fairy-tales and happy endings. Whatever it was that was possessing her wasn't allowing her to leave Nathan alone.

"Maybe I could help," She replied timidly.

She was so close to him. Her intoxicating smell of vanilla was invading all of his senses. His mind was quickly becoming hazy. His heart was pounding in his chest and he could feel a warmth spreading through his body. Her brown eyes were glistening and he found himself drawn to them. Good, God, she was making him feel again. For the love of everything holy, he didn't want to feel.

"You can't," He croaked out. "I've done a lot of bad things, Haley. Things that if you knew, you wouldn't ever want to see me again."

Haley could see the pain and the regret swirling around in his blue eyes, but even that didn't deter her. "You're not gonna scare me away, Nathan."

He shook his head. "You don't know that, just like you don't know me."

"But, I want to."

Nathan was shocked by the amount of sincerity that colored her words. He could see the truth in her eyes. She wanted to know him, even the darkest parts of him. He could feel himself losing control and that damn voice was screeching at him. He watched with rapture as she lifted her hand up to touch him and he knew that if he allowed her to do that any self control that he had left would be gone.

"Don't," He pleaded.

She ignored him. Her hand reached up to cup his cheek, her thumb brushing delicately across the bone. His eyes involuntarily closed as a rush of tingles spread throughout his entire body. For a second, he allowed himself to feel the warmth she brought to him. When he felt her other hand brush across the top of his chest and over his scar, he shuddered. Never in his life had someone touching him so innocently ever felt so good.

He needed to regain control of the situation. He needed to get away from her before he completely snapped.

"I-I can't," He mumbled breathlessly. "I can't do this."

He made no attempt to move.

Haley reveled in the feel of his skin. It was so soft and so smooth. Even the scar, which was rough and hard, felt good. She wasn't sure what had come over her, all she knew is that she couldn't stop. Nathan's face was contorted in pain, like he was fighting against her touch and that only fueled her more. There were butterflies in her stomach and she was trembling. There was something going on between them. She wasn't sure what it was, but she liked it.

Dropping her hand from his cheek, she continued to trace the scar with the fingers on her other hand. She smiled softly when he visibly shivered, his eyes still closed. "What happened?"

And just like that, he was back. It was like someone had dumped a cold bucket of water on him and reality came rushing back. Images of the house fire and his mom screaming for him flashed through his mind. His whole body turned rigid and his eyes popped open. Reaching out, he firmly grabbed her hand to stop her movements. She looked up at him was surprised eyes.

"You need to leave," He forced out.

"Nathan…"

"Please," He said more quietly. He was pleading with her again and this time she listened.

Haley nodded her head and he released her hand. Quickly, she turned away from him and headed out the door. Her mind was still hazy and her heart was still beating ridiculously fast. As she descended the stairs, she replayed what had just transpired between them over and over again in her head. She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Lucas and Jake pass her.

"What do you think happened?" Jake asked as soon as he saw Haley. She looked like she was in a hurry and her face was flushed.

"Judging by how fast she's walking, I have to say I think our plan to get them to spend some quality time together failed."