First things first, I cannot believe that this story already has over 100 reviews! I'm blown away and I can't tell you how much your reviews mean to me. Thank you so much for your ongoing support! I feel very strongly about this story and I'm glad that you all do as well. Also, thank you so much for your kind words. Depression/anxiety can be a roller coaster. Some days are good, some days are bad. But, I'm hanging in there.

Secondly, this chapter features the haunted house at Tree Hill High that I mentioned last chapter (Fun fact:October is my favorite month and Halloween is my favorite holiday so even though it's June, I had a lot of fun writing this). I was going to stick to Naley's costumes that they wore in season 3, but I changed my mind because I felt that those costumes didn't fit all that well with their characters in this story. Don't get me wrong, I loved Nathan as batman and Haley totally rocked Sandy, but I shifted things around a little. I went super into detail with Haley's costume but that's only because I found the perfect one online and I wanted you guys to be able to envision it as closely to the picture as you could, haha.

P.S. Please do not jump down my throat with the other couples that may or may not emerge in this chapter. I have a feeling that it's going to happen. I'm hoping it doesn't, but I just have a feeling.

"Hey, Brooke. Do you have a minute?"

Brooke looked up from the textbook she was reading. It was her free period and for the first time since the school year started, she didn't have any student council or cheerleading responsibilities that she needed to tend to. Her plan was to spend the whole hour catching up on the homework that she'd been neglecting for the past few days, but judging by the man that was currently standing in front of her that wasn't going to happen.

"Well, well, if it isn't the first boy to ever break my heart," Brooke teased, her eyes twinkling. She folded her arms over the book she was reading and smiled. "Jake Jagielski, how long has it been?"

"Too long," Jake mumbled hoarsely, his cheeks heating up at her words. He smiled nervously as he took a seat on the bench opposite of Brooke. "How are you?"

Brooke let out a content sigh, the smile never leaving her face. "I'm perfect. How's your life?'

"It's decent," Jake responded before clearing his throat. Nervously, he began to tap his fingers against the table. "Look, Brooke, I know we haven't had an actual conversation in years, but—"

"It's no sweat," Brooke cut him off. She could sense the pain in his voice and by the look on his face, she knew that he needed something. She didn't have the strength to turn him away… she never did. "We grew up and we grew apart. That's just life. I told you that I would always be there for you and you know I don't take promises lightly. So, what can I do for you?"

Jake smiled gratefully at her, the weight that was previously on his shoulders disappearing. "You're friends with Haley James, right?"

Brooke's interest was quickly piqued. She cocked an eyebrow, a small smirk on her face. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Don't tell me that you're interested in her, too."

Jake furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Brooke giggled as she shrugged her shoulders innocently. "I can't tell you how many guys have come up to me in the last few weeks asking me questions about her. She's like the shiny new toy that every little kid is trying to get their hands on."

"Oh," Jake said with a gulp. "Well, no, I'm not interested in Haley like that."

"Lucas?"

Jake shook his head. "Nathan."

Brooke feigned being shocked. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was agape. "Really?"

Jake sighed deeply. "Actually, he's never admitted anything, which isn't all that surprising, but I just know there's something there."

"What makes you say that?" Brooke interrogated. Mostly, she was curious, but she was also concerned about Haley. She didn't want to take the chance of setting something up for Haley that was just going to end badly.

"At your party, I saw them talking," Jake began. "Now, I've known Nathan my whole life and I've never seen him look a girl the way he was looking at Haley. For the first time in years, he genuinely looked alive. He actually smiled, which doesn't seem like much but when you know Nathan like I do, it means everything."

Brooke's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she focused in on what Jake was saying. "Have you asked him about it?"

Jake nodded. "His guard immediately went up and he denied everything, which was another red flag. But the thing that really got me was when Lucas and I tried to play matchmaker. We schemed to leave Haley in our apartment…alone, so that when Nathan came home it would just be the two of them. He was livid about it."

"Wouldn't that be considered a bad thing?"

"Maybe in most cases, but not this one. Luke has left a few girls in the apartment, as have I, and Nathan never cared. He would just act like they weren't there or lock himself in his room. With Haley, it was different. And the whole time he was yelling at us, he had that same damn look in his eyes," Jake explained.

"That's intense," Brooke muttered. She figured that there was something there, especially since Nathan hadn't sent Haley packing yet, she just wasn't aware it was that deep. "What do you need me to do?"

"Do you know if Haley is into Nathan?"

Brooke pushed a breath of air past her lips. "I think so, but I have no idea. Like Nathan, she hasn't really admitted anything. The only thing I've gotten out of her is that she's 'drawn to him', whatever that means."

Jake ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated breath of air. "I don't want to force them together or force them to be friends. If they're going to have some kind of relationship, I want it to be on their own accord. But, I just can't let this go. I have a good feeling about Haley and I'm scared Nathan is just going to bury everything he may feel, just like he always does."

"I completely agree. We just need to give them a little push," Brooke concluded. She sat silent for a few minutes while she thought over her options. She smiled when an idea popped in her mind. "Is Nathan going to the haunted house this weekend?"

"I'm not sure. He hasn't gone since freshmen year," Jake answered.

"Do you think you could get him to go?"

Jake thought about it for a few seconds before responding. "With the help of Lucas, I think I could manage."

Brooke smiled a sinister smile. "Perfect."

It was Jake's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I know that look. Brooke Davis, what do you have in mind?"

Brooke laced her fingers together and placed them on the table. She leaned towards Jake, resting her upper body on the table. "For the haunted house, they always place you in groups of twos. So, we'll just have to make sure that you guys get in line behind us. When it comes time to go inside, I'll call dibs on you and I'll tell Peyton to call dibs on Lucas. It'll force them to spend pretty much the entire night together."

"Why don't we all just go together? It would make things easier," Jake offered.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Haley and Nathan both know that are groups of friends don't really hang out with each other. I might just be overthinking this, but it might make them both suspicious, especially since we've both questioned them about the other," Brooke expounded.

"Good point," Jake beamed, his eyes shining with admiration. "When did you become the expert in matchmaking?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulders in an innocent manner. "A lot has changed since you last hung out me with, Jake."

"I can see that," Jake chuckled. "But wait, what about Julian?"

"Oh, he's not going. It's his turn to take his baby sister trick or treating," Brooke murmured, her voice taking on a more sullen tone.

"That sucks. I'm sorry," Jake crooned, ignoring the fringe of excitement that he felt at the idea of spending time with Brooke sans her boyfriend.

Brooke shook her head dismissively. "It's okay. The fact that he is such a family man is one of the many things that I love about him."

Jake just smiled at her as he stood up from the lunch table. "Thank-you, Brooke. I owe you." He hit the lunch table with the palm of his hand before turning to walk away.

"Jake, wait!" Brooke called out before chewing on her bottom lip. When he stopped walking and turned to face her again, she continued on. "I can trust Nathan with Haley, right? He's not going to hurt her? You know, because I've—"

"You can," Jake interrupted her. "I'm well aware of all the terrible things that are said about Nathan. He's not a bad guy, you can trust me on that. He's had a difficult life and he's quite jaded, but he's not dangerous or evil, despite what the rumors claim."

"I'll take your word for it," Brooke declared with a genuine smile. "It was nice talking to you again, Jake. Don't be a stranger."

Jake stuffed his hands in his pockets. A tidal wave of guilt seemed to wash over him. He took a calming breath before speaking again. "You know, I really am sorry for the way things ended between us."

Brooke tossed her head back as she laughed. "Jake, we were twelve! We didn't have a clue about what we were doing. We didn't know any better."

"Still. I miss hanging out with you," Jake admitted sheepishly.

"I miss it, too," Brooke confessed.

Jake nodded quickly, trying to fight the urge to smile. "I'll text you with more details about this weekend, after I convince Nathan to go."

"Sounds good."

~x~

"Are you going to the haunted house this weekend?" Jake asked as he plopped down next to Nathan on the couch.

Nathan tore his eyes away from the TV to look at Jake. His face was contorted into a look of complete disbelief. "Did you seriously just ask me that?"

It had been three years since Nathan attended Tree Hill High's annual haunted house. He wasn't someone that found enjoyment out of Halloween. To him, it was just another holiday that candy companies created so that they could make more money. It could also be argued that the reason he hated Halloween so much was because it was just another reminder of his parents.

He was miserable during all twelve months of the year, but October was when it hit him the worst.

Jake gulped at the sharp edge to Nathan's voice. "Uh…yes?"

Nathan shook his head. "Don't ask a question you already know the answer to."

"Oh, come on, Nathan. It could be fun," Lucas spoke up from his spot on one of the bar stools.

Nathan narrowed his eyes at the both of them. "You two never bothered me about the haunted house before, why are you now?"

Jake and Lucas exchanged a look. They could be upfront with Nathan, which would probably earn them a "hell no" for an answer. Or they could lie and run the risk of him bolting when he figured out what their plan was. It was a lose-lose situation no matter which way you looked at it.

"I heard Haley tell Brooke that she was going in English today," Jake disclosed slyly.

Instantly, Nathan tensed at the mention of her name. His heart leapt in his chest and he resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably. Things with Haley had been…complicated, on his end anyway. He was constantly at war with himself when it came to her. And at this point, he knew that no matter what the outcome of the war was, he was on the losing team.

Ever since Haley managed to make a dent in the steel walls he surrounded himself with, he had been a whirlwind of emotions. There was a part of Nathan that regretted it. He'd broken the one essential promise that he had made to himself—don't let anyone close to you and don't let anyone in. From the moment he opened his mouth and the words flowed out so effortlessly, he knew that he was absolutely screwed. But there was also a part of him that didn't regret it. Opening up to her made him feel…lighter, like he wasn't carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

They hadn't talked much since that afternoon in the River Court. There was an occasional "hi" in the hallway or during English class, but that was it. Nathan wasn't avoiding her, at least not consciously. Deep down, he knew that he should have cut all ties with her, that including their occasional small talk—and there still was a part of him that wanted to—but he couldn't. Things were different now, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Nathan croaked out as he tore his eyes away from their scrutinizing gazes.

"I don't know, does it?" Lucas cajoled, his eyebrows raised. Jake had filled him in on the plan that he concocted with Brooke and he thought it was brilliant. It wasn't too pushy. It gave Nathan and Haley more time to spend with each other, which they hoped would finally warrant some progress. They couldn't keep meddling or things might end up blowing up in their faces.

Nathan swallowed thickly and chose to remain quiet.

Jake exhaled sharply. It looked like they were going to have to try a different approach. He had no intentions on giving up, so if he had to resort to begging on his hands and knees…then so be it.

"Nate, come on, it's our senior year!" Jake continued to persuade. "You're never going to be able to attend one of these things again. You don't want to look back ten years from now and regret it."

Nathan couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Spare me the sentimental bullshit. You know damn well that I don't care about any of that and I guarantee that I won't regret missing it."

Lucas huffed out a breath of air as he slid off the barstool. His patience with Nathan was waning thin and he figured that the only way to get him to go was to demand it. "You leave me no choice—you're going and that's final. You need to get out of this apartment and one night of fun isn't going to kill you."

Nathan's head snapped up. His expression went from shocked to anger in a matter of seconds. "You already drag me to all of these parties that I don't want to go to. Not to mention, all of your basketball games that I don't really want to be at. Don't you think that's enough?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, I don't. I get that going out is the last thing you want to do, but you need to start living your life. Here, I'll make you a deal. Come with us and stay for at least an hour. After that hour's up, if you still don't want to be there, you can leave and we won't stop you."

"You really aren't going to back down, are you?" Nathan scoffed, the annoyance he was feeling evident.

"Nope," Jake piped up.

Nathan tossed his head back so that it was resting against the back of the couch, a low groan tearing from his throat. "I don't have a costume."

A slow victory smile spread across Lucas' face. "Don't worry little brother, I got you covered."

"…I'm fucked."

~x~

A shiver ripped through Haley's body as she desperately tried to tug the hemline of her dress down. A thick layer of goosebumps colored her skin. Tree Hill was relatively warm during this time of the year, but it definitely wasn't warm enough for the outfit she was wearing.

Haley had allowed Brooke to pick out her Halloween costume for the haunted house, which she had quickly learned wasn't the best idea.

Brooke had decided on an angel costume for Haley. The dress was a pure white, the hemline reaching to the middle of her thighs. A diamond-beaded sweetheart neckline and thin diamond-beaded straps adorned the upper half of the dress. The material around her waist was cinched and also beaded. Her sleeves were made of a see-through material and were detached from the dress, beginning at her triceps and bellowing out at the elbows. Holding the sleeves up was a thin silver ribbon tied as a bow. A longer skirt made out of the same see-through material extended from the back of the dress and down the back of her heels. It left the front of the dress bare, exposing her legs. A pair of silver and white wings were attached to her back. A pair of silver stilettos that Brooke lent to her covered her feet. And, of course, a clear headband was buried in her blonde curls to hold up a small halo.

Haley had to admit that the costume was beautiful—it just showed a lot more skin than she was used to showing. However, it was extremely modest when compared to Brooke's cat woman costume or Peyton's rocker chick costume.

"Brooke, are you sure that this looks okay?" Haley asked for what felt like the hundredth time since they arrived back at the high school. She had spent the entire way there checking her reflection in the convex mirror of Brooke's car. Her fingers were constantly fiddling with the curls in her hair and her eyes were constantly reevaluating the lines of make-up on her face.

Brooke abruptly stopped walking and turned to face Haley. Her hazel eyes, which were peeking out from underneath her black eye-mask, narrowed. "You know, your need for constant reassurance is starting to make me feel like you don't like the costume I picked out for you."

"No, no, no," Haley blurted out quickly. "That's not the case at all. I'm just not used to wearing something like this."

Brooke's eyes softened at the insecure quiver in Haley's voice. Exhaling, she walked over to where Haley was standing and placed her hands on her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "I promise you that you look amazing. I would never steer you wrong. Right P. Sawyer?"

"Right," Peyton confirmed with a firm nod. "You look hot. We wouldn't lie to you."

Haley smiled gratefully at the both of them while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Okay, I'll stop being annoying now."

Brooke rolled her eyes playfully. Giving Haley's shoulders one more squeeze, she released her and started walking towards the school again. Haley and Peyton followed closely behind her.

The line into the haunted house was already starting to wrap around the school. Excited chatter and squeals echoed through the courtyard. If Haley had to guess, the entire student body was there and every single one of them were dressed in costumes—everything from Michael Myers to cartoon characters.

"So, what exactly is this?" Haley inquired once they claimed a place in line. Most of the other schools she attended hosted after school events but none of them were ever as successful as this was.

"The Parent Teacher Council puts this together every year," Peyton began to explain. "It's a different theme every year and this year it's called 'Tortured Souls' or something like that. They do a really great job decorating and hiring actors every year. The five dollar charge at the door goes towards funding the music and art programs at the elementary schools. Afterwards, there's an after party in the field house that includes a costume contest."

"Wow," Haley gasped. "That's awesome."

"Yeah, it is," Brooke mumbled distractedly as she watched a group of girls dressed as witches quickly approach the entrance line. She had texted Jake as soon as they arrived and he said that they were on their way. Looking around, she saw no sight of them. Panic began to rise inside of her.

When the group of people inched even closer to the line, she glanced over at Haley and Peyton. They looked to be in deep conversation and she silently prayed that they wouldn't notice if she let a group of people cut in front of them. As soon as the group was close enough, she smiled warmly at them and quickly waved them in front of her. Brooke let out the breath of air she was holding when neither Peyton nor Haley seemed to notice.

The boys seriously needed to hurry up.

~x~

Nathan didn't want to be there. He would have much rather spent his night laying on the couch, playing video games or drinking himself into an oblivion. Either one of those were much more appealing than being around people. The incessant chatter and the high pitched squeals from buzzed girls were quickly giving me a headache. Nathan couldn't believe that he had let Lucas and Jake drag him to this thing. He chalked his weakness up to temporary insanity.

This annual event was just another reminder of everything that he had lost. Nathan could already feel his chest tightening.

His parents were heavily involved with the PTC, even before he was in high school. With Dan being a Tree Hill High alumni and basketball prodigy, he always felt the need to give back to the school as much as he could. Deb quickly agreed to join to, claiming that when she was in high school, her favorite pastime was planning extracurricular events.

The haunted house was their favorite event. They both requested off work pretty much the entire month of October. Nathan could still remember them spending hours sifting through catalog after catalog for the perfect decorations. Occasionally, they would argue over what items to get. Nathan would always roll his eyes at those arguments because ninety percent of the time, Deb always got her way. By the middle of the month, their basement and garage were jam packed with boxes shipped from Oriental Trading, Halloween USA, and whatever other company Deb or Dan had found.

It used to annoy the hell out of him, but now, he would have given up anything to see them plan another haunted house.

"Don't try and look so happy," Lucas teased lightheartedly, nudging Nathan with his police night stick. He wasn't oblivious. He knew all about what this haunted house meant to his dad and Deb. It pierced his heart whenever he thought about how much they loved this time of year. But, he had to be strong for Nathan. He had to keep things as lighthearted as possible.

"Ha-ha," Nathan deadpanned while narrowing his eyes. "One hour. That's all I'm giving you."

"Until you see how much fun it is and want to stick around," Jake implied, whipping his stethoscope to hit Nathan on the top of his thigh.

Nathan's only response was a roll of his eyes. Like that would ever happen.

They walked the rest of the way up to where the line was in silence. Nathan couldn't help but notice that Jake and Lucas seemed a little extra squirrely tonight. Every once in a while, they would whisper something to each other and if he wasn't mistaken, they had some kind of code body language going on. He could have called them out on it, but he figured whatever it was, wasn't worth the hassle.

Once they reached the back of the line, Nathan vaguely heard Jake talking to someone, but he was too busy digging his phone out of his pocket to check the time. Illuminating the screen, he grimaced when he saw the time. How could time possibly be moving so slowly? Only fifty seven minutes and thirty eight seconds before he could go back home.

Sliding his phone back in his pocket, he looked up to see who Jake was talking to…and he swore his heart actually stopped beating.

It was like something about of a movie or a cheesy romance novel. Time slowed down and everything around him faded away. Standing in front of him was easily the most beautiful thing he had ever seen—Haley dressed as an angel. She always looked beautiful, but there was something about the way she looked in that moment that made his throat close up and his knees weak.

She was glowing, the moonlight illuminating the pure white of her dress. Her brown eyes were wide and staring right back at him. He had to remind himself how to breathe. The same warmth that Nathan usually felt around her began to trickle through his body. Only this time, he didn't feel the urge to run away.

Haley shifted her weight from foot to foot underneath Nathan's gaze. The way he was looking at her set her ablaze. His eyes were wide and his jaw was clenched, his lips pressed together tightly. The butterflies in her stomach were the size of moths or maybe ever elephants.

She wasn't expecting to see him tonight. After all, school functions didn't really seem like his thing.

Haley allowed her eyes to trail over his body. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a black dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the collar of the shirt was popped. Around his neck was a silver chain with a large bat pendant hanging off of it. His skin looked much paler than normal and the dark circles under his eyes were much more prominent. And if she wasn't mistaken, his lips were a deeper red than usual. Despite everything, he still looked sinfully good.

Haley cleared her throat and blinked hard a few times to clear the fog that had formed in her brain before she began to speak. "So, what are you supposed to be?"

Nathan was jolted out of his daze at the sound of her voice. He quickly took a deep breath in order to regain his composure. "Oh, uh, I'm a vampire," He answered while baring his teeth to show her his glued on fangs.

"I see it now."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and released a short chuckle. "Luke and Jake tried to get me to wear this red cape, but I wasn't having it."

"It works well without it," Haley replied with a smile.

Nathan adverted his eyes away from her to look over her costume once again. "So, you're an angel?"

"Yep. It was all Brooke's idea," Haley said with a wave of her hand in Brooke's direction.

"Well, you look beautiful," He murmured, lifting his eyes to meet hers again. A sense of pride bloomed inside of him when he noticed a light blush forming on her cheeks. God, he was messing with fire.

Why couldn't he just stay away?

"Come on, guys! The line is moving," Brooke announced before Haley had a chance to respond to Nathan's compliment.

Wordlessly, Haley turned around to follow the crowd of people into the haunted house. The closer they got to the entrance, the more apprehensive Haley felt. In all honesty, she hated haunted houses. In fact, she hated all things scary. The only reason she agreed to go was because it sounded like fun and she wanted to see what it was like. But with the eerie music she could hear playing from inside the school and the occasional screams from the people who were already inside, she was regretting her decision.

Haley gulped loudly when they reached the front of the line and the officiators began to explain the rules. Her heart was pounding in chest and a cold sweat had broken out against her skin. She tried to take a few calming breaths but even those weren't helping to quell her fears. The only thing she clearly heard one the officiators say was something about pairing off into groups of two.

"I call Jake!" Brooke called out while hooking her arm around his.

"Peyton, what do you say? You want to be my partner?" Lucas asked while tossing an arm over Peyton's shoulder.

"Well, I guess that leaves me and you," Nathan mumbled as he watched Lucas and Jake walk away with the other two girls. Since when did they talk to Brooke or Peyton? When He didn't hear a response from Haley, he looked over at her. She looked pale and she was practically devouring her bottom lip. She was rubbing her hands together and from where he was standing, it looked like she was trembling.

"Hales? Are you alright?"

A shiver ran down Haley's spine at Nathan's use of the nickname he had given her. Looking over at him, she saw that his eyebrows were furrowed and he was looking at her with a worried look in his eye.

"Y-yeah, I'm p-perfect," Haley stammered, her gaze shifting between the amount of people in front of them and the entrance to the haunted house.

Nathan followed her staggered gaze and smirked when he realized what was going on. Inching closer to her, the smirk never left his face. "You aren't scared, are you?"

"No," Haley denied, swallowing hard.

Nathan chuckled as he shook his head. Lucas and Peyton had just gone inside and they were now next. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," He promised.

Haley's head snapped up at his words and for the second time since she's met him, he genuinely smiled at her. At that action, she felt her fears melt away. She smiled a small smile back at him. Before she knew it, it was their turn. She reached into the small pocket of her dress to pull out her wallet, but Nathan beat her to it.

"You didn't have to do that," Haley breathed.

"I know."

When the doorman instructed that they could enter, Haley still hesitated. Sensing her apprehension, Nathan placed a hand on the small of her back and led her inside. Once again, with the simplest of actions, Nathan was able to calm the fear that was rushing through her veins. His effect on her caused her heart to putter loudly in her chest and this time, it wasn't underlined with fear.

They were met with a dark and smoke filled hallway. At the end of the hall, there was a strobe light that illuminated a sign made out of wood. The words "do not enter" were painted in dripping red paint. Hesitantly, Haley took a step forward. She felt Nathan beside her, his hand still on her back. They walked along the hall and turned once they reached the end. This hall mimicked the other one, except for the fact that the entire hall was lined with strobe lights.

Haley took a step forward when suddenly a high pitched siren went off and booming voice echoed through the hall, demanding that they leave. She jumped and instinctively clung on to Nathan. One of her arms was banded around his back, while her other hand clutched onto the material of his shirt.

Nathan held her to him, his breath hitching in his throat at their close proximity. He wasn't expecting her to launch herself in his arms like that. Swallowing hard, he looked down at her. Through the flashing lights, he could see that she looked absolutely terrified and it cinched his heart. He rubbed her back in a soothing manner.

"You okay?" He shouted over the eerie music.

Realizing the position they were in, Haley felt her cheeks heat up. At the moment, she was actually glad that they were in a dark hallway. Haley released her grip on him and backed away. "Just get me out here," She mumbled. They had only been in there for a few moments, but she had already had enough.

"Okay," He declared. Reaching for her hand, he laced their fingers together. A spark ran up his arm at the action and it surprised him how natural it felt. Her hand felt so small and warm encased in his. You're just holding her hand because she's scared, that's it.

Pulling her along with him, he began to walk through the rest of the haunted house. He walked rather quickly, ignoring any of the actors or props that tried to approach them. Occasionally, Nathan could feel Haley squeezing hand, her nails digging into his skin. Surprisingly, he didn't mind it. The only thing on his mind was getting her out of there. After what felt like miles of walking, he saw the bright red "exit" sign and without a second glance around, he pulled her out of the attraction. When they were outside, he looked over at her to see that she still had her eyes squeezed shut.

"Haley," Nathan coaxed, dropping her hand. "We're outside. You can open your eyes now."

The sound of Nathan's gravelly voice had her eyes popping open. A wave of relief washed over her when she saw that they were, in fact, outside. A warmth spread through her when she realized that Nathan had been concerned about her. He did just as she asked him to and got her out of there. That feeling didn't last long, though. She suddenly felt extremely embarrassed for the way she had acted. Once again, she felt her cheeks begin to heat up.

"I'm sorry," Haley croaked out. "I didn't mean to drag you out of there."

The corner of Nathan's mouth twitched into the slightest smile. "Don't worry about it. I didn't really want to come tonight anyway."

"Why's that?" She found herself asking as they began to walk towards one of the empty benches in the courtyard. When they reached the bench, they both sat down. Haley angled her body so that she was facing him, while Nathan remained facing forward.

"It's not really my thing," Nathan responded, his arms crossing over his chest. Before he could stop himself, he began to elaborate. What was this girl doing to him? "My parents actually used to be in charge of setting this up. It was always a huge deal to them."

"Oh," Haley said, her stomach dropping at the mention of his parents. "That would make this a little tough, huh?"

Nathan nodded wordlessly.

"I'm sorry," She empathized.

Nathan sighed as he sat up. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and brought his hands together in front of him. "Can I ask you something?"

"You don't have to ask."

His mouth felt dry as he tried to formulate how to ask her what he wanted to. He could feel the sick feeling of being vulnerable start to bubble up in the pit of his stomach. Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to look at her. "Do you think I'll ever be able to move on? Do you think I'll ever be able to wake up and not feel the fresh pain of their loss?"

Haley's breath got caught in her throat at the pained expression on his face and the hoarse whisper of his voice. Without even thinking about it, she was his side and her hand was on his back. "It never truly goes away, we both know that. But, eventually, it does get easier. You just have to give it time, Nathan. You'll get through it, I truly believe that."

Nathan could see the truth shining in her eyes. She believed in him and that caused a whole other slew of emotions to come over him. He felt his body tingling at her touch and the voice in his head was begging him to back away. Nathan didn't move. He didn't want to. His gaze flickered to her lips and he swallowed hard when her tongue snuck out to wet her lips.

He could kiss her. He shouldn't, but he could and God, did he want to. For once, he just wanted to be selfish and fuck everything else.

"How the hell did you two get out here so fast?" Peyton's voice boomed through the courtyard, causing them both to back away from each other.

Haley actually wanted to kill Peyton in that moment. She was almost positive that Nathan was about to kiss her. She saw the way his eyes darkened. She saw the way that he was staring at her lips. Although, Haley couldn't really be mad at Peyton. It was dark and they were on the other side of the courtyard. There was no way for her to know what was going.

"We walk fast," Nathan spoke up with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't sure if he was more annoyed or relieved at Peyton's interruption. Annoyed because he had just decided that he was going to do something that he wanted to do for once. Relieved because…because well, kissing Haley would have only led to more trouble.

"I have to say, I'm kind of disappointed," Brooke grumbled. "Last year's was so much scarier."

"I have to agree," Jake pipped up.

"What did you think?" Lucas asked, directing his question towards Nathan and Haley.

"It was okay," Haley squeaked out.

"I don't know about you all, but I'm ready to get out of this suck-fest and get to the party," Brooke called out. "I'm sure that won't disappoint me, too."

Everyone agreed and started heading towards the field house. They didn't get very far before a voice called out from behind them.

"Where's the party?"

Nathan went frigid at the voice. He knew exactly who it was.

Damien West.

Lucas turned around and immediately regretted it. His fist clenched and his jaw locked. "You're like a leech, aren't you? You just never go away."

"Aw, it's nice to see you, too, Lucas," Damien hissed.

Haley slinked back behind Nathan, her eyes never leaving Nathan's face. He looked tense, tenser than she'd ever seen him before. His eyes were cold and hard. His jaw was locked and his fists were clenched. Vaguely, she could feel Peyton and Brooke behind her.

"What are you even doing here?" Jake interrogated. "You were expelled like three years ago. Attending events at a high school that you no longer attend makes you seem pathetic."

Damien chuckled, shaking his head. "I was just passing through. I saw you guys and thought I would come say 'hi'."

"Well you did, now leave," Lucas demanded, pointing towards the parking lot. "No one wants you here."

"Fine, fine. I can tell when I'm not wanted," Damien began to walk away before pausing and looking straight at Haley. "It was nice to see you again, Haley." He ended his sentence with a wink before continuing to walk away.

Something snapped inside of Nathan. He whipped around to face her. "What the hell does he mean by that?!"

Haley stumbled backwards, her heart stopping at the fierceness and anger that she saw in Nathan. His eyes with lit up with something that she couldn't quite decipher, but it terrified her. "N-nothing, nothing. I-I just ran into him on the dock about a week ago. T-that's all," She stammered out as her whole body trembled.

An anger that he couldn't ever remember feeling speared through him. He could feel himself losing control, but he couldn't stop. He gripped her shoulders hard. "Did he touch you?" Nathan gritted out.

Haley furrowed her eyebrows. "W-what?"

"Did he touch you?" He gritted out again.

Haley gulped. For the first time since she met him, she was actually scared of him. This was a Nathan she didn't recognize. "I-I don't know, I guess."

That was all Nathan needed to hear before the last shred of control that he had snapped. He released Haley, only to storm away from the group. He could hear Lucas and Jake calling out to him, but he ignored it. The speed of his walking only increased when he spotted Damien crossing the parking lot.

"West!" Nathan called out to him. When Damien paused and turned to face him, Nathan shoved him hard. "You stay the fuck away from Haley! You hear me? You stay the fuck away from her."

Damien stumbled back, but was able to regain his balance before he hit the ground. He smirked at Nathan, an eyebrow arched. "Why? Does this girl mean something to you?"

The sinister tone in Damien's voice caused Nathan's anger to falter. Squaring his shoulders, he let out a breath of air. "No."

Damien's smirk deepened as he stepped closer to Nathan. "You sure about that? She must mean something if you're causing this much of a stink over me talking to her."

"She means nothing," Nathan gritted out, that lie burning in the back of his throat. He couldn't let Damien know who she was. He would rather die. "She's innocent. She's a good person and she doesn't need to be getting mixed up with someone like you."

"Oh, come on, you know how I love the innocent ones," Damien crooned. "They always end up being the naughtiest and I find the most enjoyment out of corrupting them."

Another surge of anger ripped through Nathan. "Just stay away from her," He demanded before turning his back. He had to get out of there before he actually beat Damien to death.

Damien watched as Nathan walked away from him. His interest was definitely piqued over Haley but he figured that he wouldn't test his luck at the moment. "You know, I was thinking of a different way that you could pay back all that you owe me."

Nathan froze at that, but he didn't turn around. "I already told you that I don't owe you anything."

"Oh, but you see, you do. And I think I've come up with the perfect solution."

"And what would that be?"

"Come back to us," Damien declared. "Come back to us and I will forgive all of your debt. Daunte and Bear miss you. Hell, even Tim misses you."

Nathan turned around to look at him, a look of incredulity on his face. "Not a chance in hell."

"You know you want to," Damien pressed on further.

Nathan shook his head. "I'm not the same person that I was back then."

"That's where you're wrong," Damien hissed. "People don't change, Nate. You can pretend all you want, but we know the real you. You're just like us."

"I'm not," Nathan bit out.

"Really? Because as far as I can see, you're still the drunk every night low life that you were a few years ago. And don't act like you don't think about getting high again, because I know you do. How many classes are you failing, huh? How long is it going to be before you fuck Haley and then toss her to the side like you used to do to all those girls, huh?"

Nathan was back in his face within a blink of an eye. "I'm not coming back to you. You can try and goad me all you want, but it's not going to work."

"This is your only chance to diminish your debt without actually paying me a dime of money. Take it or leave it."

"Leave it."