A/N: This is a one shot inspired with the song, You Belong With Me. There's still a lot of things that are different from the song however. This is my first time writing a story as a oneshot, so it may be choppy at times, but I hope you guys like it!

"You're late again," Haley teased as she saw the raven-haired boy take a seat in front of her. She'd been tutoring him for about four months now, and while he got better at showing up on time, he still was accustomed to that habit. In the beginning, she was frustrated, but that dissipated over time.

"Sorry," Nathan replied as he settled into his seat. "I was talking to Mrs. Leery about my test."

"Why? Is everything okay?" Haley asked with a little bit of anxiety laced into her voice.

"See for yourself," Nathan said as he took his test out from his backpack and placed it on the table.

At the sight of the number on the paper, Haley's eyes widened in joy. "An 89?! That's so great!"

"I know! I couldn't believe it. Mrs. Leery was talking about how far I came in the class."

"You did come a far way, Nathan," Haley sincerely said. And he did - in terms of as a student and a person. four months ago, Haley couldn't stand to be around him as he was bullying her best friend, Lucas Scott. Now, it seemed like all she wanted to do was be near him. Over the past few months, she saw the parts that he had hidden from the rest of the world, and it was those parts that showed her that her initial impression of Nathan Scott had been wrong.

Nathan couldn't help the genuine smile that overtook his face upon hearing Haley's words. Her words shouldn't have had that much of an impact on him, but they did.

An hour later, the two were still at the docks as Haley was explaining a specific math concept to him. However, a buzzing sound interrupted their tutoring routine.

"Sorry," Nathan said realizing the buzzing was coming from his phone. He read the text he got and said, "Um that was Peyton. Is it okay if I cut out of tutoring early today? She doesn't have a ride back home from school."

"Oh…Yeah that's fine," Haley dejectedly responded with tight smile. She watched him say goodbye to her quickly before heading off.

She realized the feeling was getting worse. The feeling, which she concluded was jealously, started about three months ago. And it was two months ago when she realized she had feelings for Nathan Scott. Being aware of her feelings is what made it so much harder for her to hear him mention Peyton.

She had nothing against Peyton. In fact, the few times, she's spoken to her, she'd been really nice towards her. It just hurt because it was the first time she'd felt so deeply about a guy before.

And then there was Lucas. She constantly felt as guilty as she felt like her feelings towards Nathan was a betrayal to Lucas.

Despite this, she couldn't shut down her feelings for him.

Yup, she was screwed.

The car ride back to Peyton's house felt awkward as the two of them tried to think of stuff to say. During this time, Nathan couldn't help but think of how he felt around Haley. With Haley, everything flowed better. Despite being so different from each other, they always found something to say. In fact, he realized that she was probably the only person he felt comfortable being around.

With Peyton, however, he noticed that things were much more strained. Their relationship was mainly physical and besides that, they would be arguing most of the time. However, over the past few weeks, even the fighting toned down. It felt as though nothing held their relationship together.

"So, you gonna come inside?" Peyton asked as they approached her house. Rather than eagerness, her tone resembled more of an indifference which highlighted the lack of passion present in their relationship.

"Uh, sure," Nathan responded nonchalantly. All the thoughts of Haley were messing with his head and he needed take a break from them.

About twenty minutes later, the two were on Peyton's couch engaged in a make-out session.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked. "You seem distracted."

"Uh…nothing," Nathan lied. Truth was it was happening more and more now. His mind would always be drifting off to a certain brunette tutor rather than the curly blonde in front of him.

"Okay," Peyton shrugged. That was another thing about their relationship. They never really discussed their feelings wth each other. "I gotta go anyway. I'm meeting Lucas for a school project."

Upon hearing Lucas' name, Nathan felt a wave of anger channel through him. It wasn't really because he was jealous of him and Peyton, but it was more like he was jealous of Lucas, not that he would really admit that. He hated that three months ago Lucas joined the basketball team. He hated that his dad would channel his anger at Lucas at him instead by making him work even harder. He hated that Lucas wasn't being bullied by Dan like he was. And he hated that Lucas was friends with Haley.

He remembered the first time he saw Lucas and Haley talking to each other in the hallway in the beginning of the school year. He was so sure they were dating at the time. That's why he did the one thing he could think of to hurt Lucas. But as he remembered his "plan," it was only hurting him instead.

Pushing the guilt away, he decided to go home and prepare some more for tomorrow's game.

The next day, Tree Hill High was celebrating the Ravens' win against Pontiac. The entire gym was packed, but amongst all the chaos, a certain raven haired boy was no where to be seen. After looking around the areas surrounding the gym, Haley found Nathan sitting against the lockers.

"Hey, good game," Haley said with a soft smile. "You were great out there."

"Thanks." Nathan replied, giving her a forced smile.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked.

"Nothing," Nathan said. That was his automatic response he always gave to people when they asked them that and he wouldn't ever feel like elaborating on it…until now. "Actually, it's not nothing."

"What happened?" Haley asked with curiosity. Whenever she was around Nathan, he'd always be playful or cocky, but vulnerability was rare. In fact, there were only a few instances when she saw that version of him.

Nathan sighed before continuing to speak. "It's my dad. I thought he'd be happy considering we won, but right after the game, he found me and brought me out here so he could yell at me."

"Why would he do that? You played amazing."

"But according to him, I could've been even better," Nathan replied rolling his eyes as he remembered Dan's voice in his ears. "It's always like this with him. No matter what I do…I just can never be enough for him. I try so hard, but I guess it doesn't matter."

"Nathan, I'm so sorry," Haley said sympathetically. While Nathan had mentioned his strained relationship with his father before, it hurt hearing how terrible Dan was to him. However, learning more about him made her understand why he was putting a facade when they first met. "I wish I could help."

"You are right now by talking with me," Nathan said with a smile.

"For what it's worth, I'm proud of you Nathan. You came a long way from being the guy who stole school buses in the beginning of the year," Haley joked.

Nathan lightly laughed at that.

Moments, later, Haley checked the text she got on her phone. "I gotta go…Lucas wants me to meet him for dinner at the cafe."

Haley could see Nathan's face wince at the mention of Lucas, and spoke up. "Nathan, Luke's a good person."

"Whatever," Nathan mumbled. "I don't want to talk about him."

Haley sighed. If only the two brothers could actually talk to each other without ending up in a fight. That was another reason why she disliked Dan Scott, for coming in between the them.

"Okay," Haley conceded. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a few weeks."

"A few weeks?" Nathan asked, not wanting to be away from her that long. Since the beginning of the school year, he'd seen her at least three times a week.

"Yeah. It's winter break."

"So?"

"So school isn't in session, so tutoring isn't gonna be going on."

"Oh," Nathan said. It disappointed him that Haley only wanted to hang around him when the were tutoring. "Actually, I might have a party in my parent's beach house next week, you should come. You could even bring…Lucas."

"Really?" Haley asked in disbelief. "Why would you want Lucas there? You're not planning on doing anything to hurt him are you?"

"No, Haley. I just really want you to come, and I know Lucas is your friend, so I thought you'd feel happier if he were there. I guess I'll just tolerate him…So will you come?"

Haley felt the familiar butterflies return to her stomach..

"Yes, I'll come," she said.

As Haley and Lucas got out of the truck and came in direct view with the Scott beach house, they were overwhelmed with the amount of people in there.

"I still don't know why I came to this thing," Lucas mumbled.

"Because you're my best friend in the whole world and you love me," Haley teased.

Lucas playfully rolled his eyes at that. "Why did you want you to come anyway?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, I know you're tutoring the guy, but you had to convince me for like an hour to come here," Lucas spoke as he was lost in thought. "You don't like…like him, do you?"

"What? Of course not," Haley said a little too fast as she felt the anxiety build up within her. She could not tell Lucas about her feelings for Nathan. He just wouldn't understand. And he would feel betrayed by her, so instead, she chose to lie. "I'm just tutoring him and I thought it would be nice to see him in a different setting than the tutor center."

"Okay," Lucas responded, mostly believing her.

A little while later, Nathan searched around his beach house to find Haley. He'd briefly got a glimpse of her earlier with Lucas, but then he'd lost her in the crowds of people.

During his search, he looked through the glass door leading to the patio and saw the sight of Peyton and Lucas close together on the bench.

When he saw them together, he didn't feel jealous - he didn't feel anything.

He and Peyton had broken up a few days ago. Honestly it was a long time coming. Their relationship was barely a relationship. Even the arguing that was present during their relationship wasn't there anymore. There was nothing between them. So, they made the decision to end it (and that was probably the most mature thing they've done together).

And then there was also the brunette girl that Nathan could not stop thinking about for months now. He knew that Haley didn't feel anything towards him and just saw him as a tutee/friend, but he couldn't turn his emotions off. She was the one person who he looked forward to seeing, the one person who he could be himself around and the one person he could be completely vulnerable around.

The way he was feeling about her was scaring him as he never felt such intense emotions before, but at the same time, he took pleasure in the euphoria those feelings brought him.

Turning his sights away from his ex-girlfriend and brother, he finally found Haley standing alone in a tiny hallway, which was the only area in the beach house that wasn't crowded with people.

"Hey what you are doing all by yourself?" Nathan asked her.

"Oh nothing. Lucas said he was going to talk to Peyton for a few minutes, so I thought I'd explore your house. I can't believe you have like eight bedrooms in here! And a hot tub!"

Nathan laughed at that.

"I also wanted to say thank you for letting me bring Lucas."

"It's no big deal," Nathan shrugged.

"Yes it is. You don't like the guy, but still invited him to come. Why?"

Nathan inched a little closer to her and the atmosphere felt a little more "intimate."

"Because I knew it would make you happy," he said softly as he gazed into her eyes which were just a few inches away from his.

He didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was because they were standing so close together in an empty hallway and the fact that Haley was looking at him so intensely, but before his brain could stop him, he felt himself seal the gap between them and kiss her.

Haley couldn't even fathom what was happening. One minute, they were just talking and the next, Nathan was kissing her. She couldn't even describe the bliss that was consuming her. She'd day dream about moments like this, but this was much better than anything she could've imagined.

And then she remembered and quickly pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked a little nervous as he saw her panicked face. For a few moments, he genuinely thought that she liked him back. That kiss was easily the best kiss he'd ever have, and it was would hurt now to think that it didn't mean anything to Haley.

"You…You're with Peyton. And I…I can't do this to Lucas," Haley choked out.

"No I'm not. We broke up."

She felt slightly better after that, but the discomforting feeling returned when she thought about her best friend.

"I still can't betray Lucas like this," Haley said. She knew if he found out, he'd be crushed. She didn't want to hurt him like that.

"Hales-" Nathan started to say in a convincing kind of way. Now that he had kissed Haley, he could only thing of what it would be like to do it again. He didn't want to lose her and especially not to Lucas.

"No I'm sorry, Nathan, but I can't do it. Lucas and I have been friends for way too long and -"

Haley was cut off as someone else came into the hallway. Looking to see who it was, Haley was shocked. While Nathan and her weren't kissing anymore, they were still very close to one another that the scene looked like two people who were definitely more than friends.

"Luke!" Haley exclaimed. "It's not what you think."

Lucas looked frozen for a second as he examined the scene in front of him. "Oh it's not what I think?" Lucas said humorously. "Well it looks like my best friend lied to me and is hooking up with my brother who she knows I hate by the way. I mean, Haley, did you forget about the time he kidnapped me and threw me into a lake?"

"No, of course not. Lucas, it's not like that. Let me explain," Haley pleaded with tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," Lucas replied stubbornly. "Oh and by the way, the real reason I was coming to look for you is to tell you something I overheard Tim say."

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked.

Upon hearing Lucas' words, Nathan felt a bad feeling form in his stomach which instantly made him nauseous. No, Haley, could not hear this. He could feel the pit form in his stomach and desperately hoped that Lucas wasn't going to say what he think he was. "Shut up, Lucas," he gritted out.

"What, you don't Haley to hear all about your master plan, Scott?" Lucas began to say.

"What plan?" Haley questioned, not liking where this was going.

"Lucas, I swear if-" Nathan started to say, but was cut off by Lucas continuing to talk.

"He was using you Haley. He wanted you to fall for him, so then he could break your heart and hurt me in the process."

Haley was still for a few moments as she processed Lucas' words. She slowly turned so she was facing Nathan.

"Is this true?" she asked him. Her voice wasn't angry, only hurt and vulnerable.

"Hales, I didn't know that I was going too fall…I just thought…I was…" Nathan couldn't find the right words to say to her. He panicked as he felt slipping away from her. He couldn't lose her. His mind was scrambling to pick out the right words to say, but he blanked.

"Is it true?" Haley repeated, a little more forcefully so that Nathan would quit his rambling and give her an actual answer.

"Yes," Nathan said. "But-"

"No, I don't want to hear it," Haley said as she wiped the tears off my face. She couldn't believe that he had done this. All this time, she was telling him how proud she was of him for becoming a better person, but the truth was, he was just using her. He pretended to be a better person so that she would fall for him. Unfortunately, it worked, and she hated herself for falling for him."Just forget all of this and leave me the hell alone."

As he saw her leave, he wanted to run after her, but his feet stood still. He knew there was nothing he could say right now and that she needed he knew after he gave her sometime, he was going to fight for her. He had to. In the meantime, he would unleash his anger on his brother.

"Fuck you, Lucas," Nathan spat out.

"She deserved to know, so she wouldn't be wasting her time with something who was playing with her feelings."

"Maybe it started that way, but it hasn't been about that between me and Haley for a long time," Nathan sincerely said, but with the anger still present in his voice.

"Well I just don't believe you," Lucas said.

"You know she really loves you right," Nathan said. "I always wondered why she was so loyal to you and your friendship."

"Right," Lucas joked humorously. "That explains why she was with you of all people."

"No she wasn't you asshole. I kissed her and she pulled away because she didn't want to hurt you. Yup, she's totally a bad friend for that," Nathan saracasticly stated.

"Whatever," Lucas mumbled before walking away.

Nathan could tell that upon hearing those words, Lucas felt bad for lashing out at Haley even if he didn't say the words aloud.

Now, Nathan stood there in the hallway with his thoughts being the only company he'd have. He wanted to laugh at the irony of his plan. He wanted to hurt Haley, but it felt like he hurt himself more. He lost the only good thing from his life.

He should've known from the beginning that it was impossible not to fall in love with Haley James.

"Haley-Bob! You have a visitor!" Lydia exclaimed from downstairs.

"Who is it?" Haley yelled back from her room.

"Come down and see for yourself," Lydia said.

Sighing, Haley got out of bed and went to the door, surprised to see who it was.

"Lucas?"

"Surprise," he said. "I brought my mom's mac & cheese as a peace offering."

"You…you're not mad at me?" Haley asked, surprised by his actions. The past few days have been terrible for her. On one hand, she had been focused on the fact that Nathan Scott was playing her. On the other, she was focused on how she lost her friendship with her best friend.

"I was," Lucas said. "I was so mad. I didn't understand how you could do that, but then Nathan filled me in and how you were the one who stopped the kiss because of me."

"I couldn't do that to you," Haley murmured.

"I know, that's what Nathan said. I just have to know…why him?"

"I don't know. I didn't like him in the beginning either. But then during our tutoring sessions, I realized how much I enjoyed spending time with him. Yes, he was still cocky, but more in a joking way. I just started to see different parts of him and before I knew it, I fell for him."

"You just see the good in everyone, Hales."

"Look how great that worked out," Haley said bitterly. "Whatever, it's done now. He got what he wanted - at least with me. He used me and broke my heart."

"Hales, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that in the party. It's just…I was so angry at you."

"It's okay, Luke. I'm just glad we're friends again," she stated as she walked over to him to give him a hug. "And I'll just have to get over Nathan."

She knew that was going to be easier said than done though.

Haley was anxious as she walked through the hallways. School started again today after winter break and she knew she was going to get a glimpse of Nathan somehow. He'd tried to call her a few times, but each time, she wouldn't respond. She'd even delete the voicemails he left without listening to them at all. Despite it being almost two weeks later, the hurt still felt fresh. She didn't know what she could do to get over this.

Surprisingly, she made it through out the day without seeing Nathan and was relieved. They didn't have any classes together and she didn't see him in the hallways.

Her feelings of relief were short lived though as she entered the tutor center and came face to face with the handsome raven haired boy who broke her heart.

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked. He wasn't supposed to be here. She asked someone else to tutor him instead.

"You're my tutor," Nathan simply stated while taking the sight of her in. While it had only been around two weeks, he'd missed her like crazy. He tried so hard to get into contact with her, but all his attempts were futile. He even stopped by her house, but her mom turned him away saying that Haley wasn't up for company.

"Like hell you are," Haley stated. "I found you another tutor."

"I don't want anyone else," Nathan stated as his words had a deeper meaning. "I want you."

Haley felt the butterflies return to her stomach, but then cursed her body for melting at his words. He's just using you Haley. He's saying this stuff to make you fall for him. Don't let him win. "Whatever, Nathan. I'm not gonna tutor you. I'll find Derek so he could tutor you."

"His roster is already full."

"Then I guess you're out of luck. Bye, Nathan," Haley stated as she started to leave.

"Wait, Hales-"

"Don't call me that," Haley warned him. She once loved hearing him say her nickname. She remembered the tinging feeling she would always get during those times, but now it was just a reminder that she fell for a lie.

"Fine. Haley. I just need a tutor please."

"Your grades have gotten better, Nathan. You'll be fine on your own."

"Not in Math. I still have a D in math, and I need it to be a C or higher if I can play basketball. I need your help…please," Nathan sincerely said. It was true that he still needed a tutor, so he could have basketball, but he also wanted Haley to tutor him, so he could talk to her again. She'd become such a fixture in his life the five months and it hurt to not have her with him the past couple of weeks. "I promise we don't even have to talk about anything else. I'll show up to tutoring and we do a few practice stuff and then I leave."

"Fine," Haley conceded as she rolled her eyes. Of course, he didn't forgive him. But she knew how much basketball meant to him.

She knew it was going to be hard being so close to Nathan multiple times throughout the week, but she'd just have to manage. She was going to be his tutor, but that was all. She wasn't going to let herself fall for him any harder.

As Nathan reached to get the plates that were on the top shelf, he felt the strain his his arms. Dan had been putting extra pressure on Nathan recently and overworked him during basketball practices.

To make matters even worse, Haley still wasn't talking to him other than their tutoring sessions which strictly focused on math. It had been three weeks since she'd agree to tutor him again, and he thought she would warm up to him at least a little. Nope. Not even a tiny but.

He couldn't blame her though. He was just hoping that tonight could make it up to her. He'd spent an hour convincing Haley's parents to leave for the night, so that Nathan could make Haley dinner (it was actually Mac and cheese from Karen's since he couldn't cook) in her house. She was going to be home any minute now, and just serving the mac & chese into the plate.

He was really hoping that he would be able to talk to her tonight and explain things.

As he heard the front door open, he felt himself get anxious.

"Hey Mom and Dad!" Haley said as she came into the kitchen, but was then startled when she saw someone else instead. "What are you doing here? Where are my parents?"

"Uh they're out for the night. They said they'd be back in a few hours and they let me in so I can make dinner."

"You made dinner?" Haley asked in disbelief.

"Well it's actually takeout from Karen's. Mac and Cheese is your favorite right?"

"Yeah it is, but I-"

"Please just let me explain Haley."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm sorry for what I did. I wish I didn't do it. I do care about you, Haley. So much that it scares me sometimes."

"I can't believe that," Haley said numbly. He probably says that to all the girls.

"It's the truth. I've had feelings for you for awhile now, Haley. I just…I just thought you didn't feel the same way. And then I felt guilty about the whole plan thing. Look, I know it wrong of me to go after you for the reasons that I did, but things changed along the way. When I made that plan, I didn't know anything about you - not that it makes it okay. But then through our tutoring sessions, I got to know you and before I knew it, I fell for you."

Haley felt her heart hammering in her chest. For a few seconds, she actually believed what he was saying. But then again, she couldn't let herself go there. This could be one of his "tricks" to make her fall for him again. "I'm sorry, Nathan. I can't do this. I just…I don't trust you anymore."

"But -"

"Could you please leave? Thanks for doing the whole dinner thing, but I just have a lot of homework and I'd like to be alone right now."

"Haley-"

"Please, Nathan. Just leave me alone."

"Fine," Nathan said slightly frustrated. He wasn't frustrated at Haley - he knew that she had the right to feel what she felt. He was more frustrated at himself. He didn't know what he could do to show Haley that he was serious about her.

The next day, some of the guys from the basketball team decided to head to a bar using their fake I.D's. It had been a tough couple weeks as the basketball practices became more intense.

"Maybe you should slow down, man," Lucas said as he saw Nathan drink his fifth beer.

"What are you? My mom?"

"Sorry for expressing some type of concern," Lucas said, rolling his eyes. "I just know how pressure Dan has been putting on you."

"Whatever. Just leave it," Nathan snarked. He saw Lucas leave after that and there was a tiny part of him that felt bad. He knew that Lucas was just trying to be nice for him, but the mention of Dan Scott brought out the worst in Nathan. And then there was the whole issue of Haley.

Frustrated, he kept drinking his beer and didn't notice the girl who sat up against him.

"Here," she said as she pushed a drink towards him. "You look like you need another one."

"Thanks," he said with a tight smile.

"So you from here?"

"Yup." He kept his responses short as he wasn't really interested in talking to this girl.

"You seem like you're in a bad mood. Wanna come back to my place, so I could cheer you up."

"I'm good."

"Why? Got a girl?" she asked.

"It's complicated."

"Well I can help you forget about her for a little while," she flirted.

"No, thanks." He was surprised at his own response. In the past, he would've said 'yes' with no hesitation. However, now things felt different. He didn't want to go home with this girl when he was already in love with another.

She was the only one he wanted.

"Hey, Luke, I haven't seen you in a few days," Haley said. "Basketball is taking you away from me."

"I know, I'm sorry Hales. How about we go see a move this weekend?"

"That sounds good. I miss hanging out with you."

"Me too, Hales. So how's tutoring, Nathan going."

"Eh, I just focus on being a tutor. He came to my house the other day, you know. He started talking all about how he actually felt bad for using me and that he actually does like me. Whatever, I know he didn't mean it anyway."

"Maybe he did," Lucas said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe he does have feelings for you."

"You realize you just said that right? Luke, you were the one who told me he was using me, and you're the one who hates him."

"Look, I know it seems weird that I'm defending the guy, but some of the basketball players went to a bar over the weekend…I saw a girl approach Nathan and he turned her down."

"So?"

"He turned her down because he didn't want her…he wanted you."

"He said that?" Haley asked incredulously.

"I was so sure Nathan would've left with the girl, but he didn't. He wouldn't have done that unless he felt something for you. And I know that he started off by using you, but what if he actually fell for you."

"I don't know Luke. I gotta think about it," Haley said. She so badly wanted to believe that it was the truth - that Nathan liked her, but she didn't want to get hurt again. Despite not showing it around Nathan, the hurt was still there. She just had to put up a face to pretend like it wasn't.

Later that day, Nathan and Haley were in the tutor center.

Lucas' words kept ringing in her ear, and for some reason she blurted it out, "Why didn't you sleep with that girl?"

"What?" Nathan asked confused, especially because she only spoke about school related stuff with him for the past few months.

"Lucas told me he saw you at a bar talking to girl, but you didn't leave with her. Why?"

"I didn't want her," Nathan simply said. "I only want one girl and that's you."

Haley felt herself involuntarily shiver at his words.

"I know you don't believe me, Haley, and I don't know what I can do to show you, but I am. I'm gonna show you how sorry I am and how much I want to be with you. I just…I need to know if you think there will ever be a chance that you might trust me again."

And for the first time in a long time, Haley felt slightly hopeful.

"Maybe."

A month later and Nathan and Haley were like before the whole party incident happened. Haley had asked Nathan if they could just be friends, and he more than happily obliged knowing it was better than barely talking to her.

"So you coming to the basketball game tonight?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not sure yet. If I do, I gotta bring my homework with me, so I can do it with me while you do your freeshots or whatever."

"Freethrows, Haley," Nathan laughed while correcting her. He was glad that they had gotten their friendship back. He could feel her start to trust him again and he wasn't going to screw that up.

"Whatever," Haley replied playfully rolling her eyes. "And also, I finished grading your practice exam."

"What did I get?"

"A 70."

"Dammit."

"Hey, it's okay, it's still progress."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Hey, you okay?" Haley asked him as he saw her slightly shaking and moving his foot against the table. "You seem a little on edge."

"Yeah, it's just that the game tomorrow is a big one and my dad's putting a shit ton of pressure on me. So much more than before."

There was also something else, but he couldn't tell her about that. He didn't want to lie to her, but he thought she'd be more disappointed in him if she found out.

Later that night, the Tree Hill gym was packed as Tree Hill was playing against Cove City. Haley completely forgot about her english homework as she solely focused on Nathan playing. Before meeting him, she couldn't understand how people were into sports. However, after watching Nathan play, she could see how much he loved it.

There was also something else, she'd noticed. He was playing great - in fact, even better than great - but he just seemed off. She couldn't tell what it was.

Moments later, she saw as he stood still on the court instead of passing the ball. He seemed like he was stuck in a daze as his eyes met hers. Haley was confused, but that confusion soon turned into panic as she watched him collapse to the ground.

For the next few hours, Haley was an anxious mess. She saw the ambulance come to Tree Hill High and take Nathan away. She had no idea what was going on, but she just wanted answers. She only slightly calmed down, when Nathan's mom, Deb, called her saying that Nathan was okay.

Still, she was pacing around in her room, anxiously wanting to her Nathan's voice.

She picked up her phone and left a voicemail for him. "Hey, it's Haley. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You really scared me tonight, Nathan…"

"I'm sorry," Nathan said as he entered Haley's bedroom. "Your parents let me in on their way out."

"What are you doing here?" Haley asked, but relieved that he looked okay. "You're supposed to be in the hospital!"

"I'm fine," Nathan reassured her. "Well physically anyway."

"What happened? I was so worried."

"I made a lot of mistakes, Haley...I took drugs today, Haley."

"What? Why would you do that?"

He noticed that her voice wasn't disappointed, but rather laced with genuine concern.

"My dad was putting so much pressure on me…and I know it was stupid, but I just needed something so I could be a better basketball player." Nathan paused before continuing, "I was so scared tonight. I'm still terrified. Then I saw you. I promised myself that if I could just get up, and walk over to you, and tell you how much I need you, and how much I want you, that nothing else matters…I know I made mistakes with us Haley, but I'm going to better."

"I believe you," Haley softly said. And she did believe him to her surprise. Being friends with Nathan over the past month made her see how genuine he was. Even now, when he vulnerable, he came to see her with emotions nothing but genuine. She may not have 100% trusted him, but she knew she was on her way to.

Nathan smiled at her words. For the first time in a long time, he felt really hopeful about them. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about the drugs. I just thought you'd be made at me. I know I keep making mistakes. I'm sorry, even though sometimes I can't help. Just like I can't help that that I felt in love with you. Cause I did," Nathan took a deep breathe before proceeding, "I love you, Haley."

Haley sat there in disbelief. As Nathan said those words to her, she knew he meant them. She felt every part of her body fill up with euphoria.

"I love you, too."

Thanks for reading!