A/N: Hi again. Sorry for the wait, I've been a little distracted lately. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Please Please Please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters. If I did, Haley would have more story lines.

"Don't walk away Nathan, not again"

Nathan swiftly spun around, clearly pissed.

"Me? Walk away? If memory serves right, it was you that walked away from us, not me."

"You were the one who wanted the divorce, not me. You should be happy, I gave you your freedom. If we were still together, you'd never be able to make up with your parents or go this far with your career. If you ask me, I think I did you a favour"

"Am I hearing this correctly? You did me a favour? You made my life an absolute hell! Those couple of months while you were on tour, do you have any idea how miserable I was. I would have done anything for you, quit basketball, go on tour with you, I would have done anything to make us work, where as you, you never even gave us a chance."

Talking to Nathan was like talking to a brick wall. No matter how hard you tried to explain things, he'd just never understand.

"Nathan don't you see? It was always going to be either me or you, whose dreams were more important. If I'd asked you to go on tour with me, for a while it would be good. I'd get to be living my dream and you'd be the loving husband. But what would happen after that? For a while you'd go along with it, just to make me happy but later on you'd resent me for taking away your dreams. When I decided to go on tour, I wasn't being selfish, I was being realistic."

"Tell me Haley, was it just about the music? Or did it have something to do with Chris Keller as well? Did you have feelings for him?"

"Nathan –"

"It's a simple question Haley, did you or didn't you?"

When I remained silent, he took it as a yes.

" I thought so. I knew about the kiss at the train station, but did you with sleep with him too?" he asked as he inched closer to her.

"Tell me Haley, did he fuck your brains out like I did. Make you scream with delight with a single kiss. Did he ever love you so much that it physically hurt to be away from you?" continued Nathan huskily, a mere inches from her face.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be around Nathan. He could be utterly repulsive and yet undeniably sexy at the same time. I dated a couple of people after Nathan but none of them could ever set me on fire like he did, and apparently still could do. That's not to say that I was going to let him get to me. There was not a chance in hell that I was going to let him gain some sort of satisfaction out of my discomfort. So I did what I had to do. I pushed him, hard. He ended up falling to the floor.

"What was that for?" he yelled.

"For being an ass, Nathan, what do you think? If you must know, I didn't sleep with him. We may have fooled around once or twice, but it didn't mean anything. You weren't talking to me and the rest of the people I cared about were treated me like shit. You have no idea how alone I felt, and unlike you, Chris was there for me. When no one was there to listen, he was there to make it better. That's more than I can say for you."

"You know what? Fuck you. Just do what you came here to do and get out"

"You know what I realised? You're just like Dan! You don't face your problems, you think that just pushing people away will solve things but it won't. It will only get worse. Oh and by the way, don't flatter yourself, I am not in the least interested in spending a minute more that what is needed in this hellhole that you call a home of yours. Just answer the questions as clearly as humanly possible and I'll be out of your way. Got it?"

"Fine" he yelled, annoyed as hell.

"You went to Dan's party is that right?"

"Yes"

"The last time I heard, you and your father were still on a non-speaking term so why would you bother going to his party?"

"Image of course. Haley, have you ever been to a society gathering?"

For a moment, I pondered on the question, knowing fully well that the answer was a definite no. The last time I'd been to a party was probably in college, and that too, not of my own willingness. I'd been to a number of mindless frat parties out of Lucas and Brooke's insistence. A frat party – a far cry from the evening gowns and caviar that Nathan was referring to.

"No, I suppose not", I finally replied in honesty.

"A society party is kind of like the defining factor among the elite. Dan was a highly influential personality, news of a fallout would drive the media wild. I'd be on every tabloid magazine across the country. I've worked hard to put my past behind, and I'll do anything, including going to Dan's kiss ass jamboree to keep it that way".

Was he really that embarrassed of me? There were so many unanswered questions when it came to the past.

Unwilling to get into another argument, I continued with the investigation: "Did you go alone?"

"Heh, wouldn't you like to know"

"Just answer the question", said I demanded, becoming rather impatient.

"I was with Peyton"

"Sawyer?"

"Yes"

"Okay, I'm going to need her number. Okay, so how long were you there?"

"An hour or two, I didn't check to see the time", replied Nathan clearly irritated.

He kept playing with this mini basketball, not even having the decency to look at me while he answered my questions. Most of the time, in spite of my relatively petite structure, people are intimidated. This utter lack of attention on Nathan's part was driving me mad, but still, for sake of the case and my spotless career thus far, I kept my cool.

"And during this time, did you speak to Dan?"

"Well yeah, its common courtesy to speak to the host isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant. Did you engage in any sort of conversation with him?"

"No"

"And you didn't visit his office?"

"No, the party was limited to the living room only"

"So explain to me how your prints ended up on that bottle of campaign?"

"I don't know, I was pretty drunk, everything's pretty foggy from that night. I thought I was paying you to be on my side."

"I am on your side damn it."

I needed a moment to collect myself. Being around Nathan always drove me to the edge. If I made the wrong move, Nathan would go back to being uncooperative. And given the critical state of things, this was something that neither of us could afford.

"Look Nathan, I'll be honest with you, your case doesn't look good right now. The only reason you haven't been spending the last few days in police custody is because you're such a big star and even the American justice system goes easy on people like you. Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? You've been named the prime suspect in the murder of a highly respected senator, not to mention a presidential candidate. The prosecution will portray you as a spoiled rich boy who let the fame get to his head. They'll bring out your past, your troubled childhood, broken marriage, tumultuous relationships, they'll make it out to look like an act of vengeance Nathan."

"Don't you think I realise that Haley? I can't turn on the television or read the newspaper, because I know what they've written about me. Everywhere I go, people treat me like dirt. They don't see me as the gifted basketball player, they see me as the kind of guy who'd kill their own father. Everything I've worked for is slipping away and I can't seem to do a single thing about it. I hate this Haley. I admit Dan and I had our differences, but you have to believe me, I would never stoop that low. I would never kill him, Haley."

He looked like a lost little boy, holding on to the last shred of hope that things would get better but knowing very well that it wouldn't. No matter how many times I saw this face, I could never get used to it. Even after all these years, watching him in pain made me want to cry too. I was at a loss of what to do. Back when we were together, when Nathan would come to me after a particularly grueling practice with his dad, I'd hold him tightly and listen to him while he spilled his innermost thoughts until he fell asleep. Now however, the situation was entirely different. I wasn't his wife or girlfriend anymore, O was his lawyer now. And my job description didn't require me to console my client for his falling stardom. The last thing I needed was to get attached to him.

"I believe you Nathan", I said softly.

"You do?"

"Yes"

For the next couple of days, things seemed to get easier for us. That day some sort of an unspoken agreement had been reached. As long as neither of us spoke of the past, we would be able to get along.

***

New York City

The head office of People Magazine was everything you'd expect it to be. Located at the heart of New York city, it was one of the tallest buildings on the block. My guess is that its at least forty stories high, maybe even higher. As I pushed through the heavy glass revolving doors, I couldn't help but take a moment to admire my surroundings. Tall ceilings, contemporary architecture, and hundreds of people in fancy suits, moving about with cell phones attached to their ears. Pushing through the crowd, I finally reached what I could only guess was some sort of reception area. Just like everyone else in the building, the lady behind the counter was impeccably dressed, not a single strand of hair out of place.

"May I help you?" asked the lady, rather rudely if you ask me.

"Yes, I'm here to see Mr. … " I shuffled through my purse, triumphantly pulling out the bit of torn paper on which I'd scribbled the guy's name.

"Mr. Jagielski, I'm here to see "

The woman looked at me as if I was mad. So what if I was wearing a simple white summer dress that I'd bought for ten bucks at a flee market back in Tree Hill. What right did she have to look down on me like that? How was I supposed to know that people were so damn formal around here? People in the magazines always look so casually dressed (not that I'd been reading gossip magazines or anything). It's just that Brooke leaves those magazines, all around my apartment hoping that I'll actually acquire some sort of a fashion sense, not that I don't have any although Brooke seems to think so. I mean even I know that you aren't supposed to wear white after Labour Day, that's something right?

Anyway, Mr. Jagielski turned out to be this really nice man. About 25/26, around 6 feet tall, with curly brown hair, and a smile that just lit up his face.

"Mr. Jagielski, I'm Haley James it's nice to meet you"

"Please, call me Jake", he replied as her ushered me to sit down.

"Would you like something to drink? Soda, coffee?" he asked.

Maybe it was to get me comfortable so as to extract the juiciest details concerning Nathan's case, but I'll tell you this much; Jake was the first nice guy I'd met since I arrived in the big apple.

"No thanks, if you don't mind, I'd like to get right into the interview"

"No problem, Ms. James"

"Haley", I corrected, it felt odd being called by my last name.

"Okay, Haley, I'll get right to the point. We know that your client has been named as the prime suspect for Dan Scott's murder –"

"Death, there is no definite proof that late was indeed murdered", I interjected.

"Oh so poisoning doesn't signify murder."

"If I were you, I'd let jury be the judge of that"

Everyone was right, this Jagielski person was brutal. From what I'd been able to gather, he had literally shot to the top. While others in his age range, started their careers as lowly assistants in mediocre magazine companies, Jake's cutting remarks and sleuthing abilities had had every news paper and magazine companies fighting for him, from the moment he graduated, from Princeton, might I add.

"Touché Ms. James. As per the hearing on January 17th, its clear that the case will be transferred to criminal court isn't that right?"

"Yes"

"After multiple requests for media coverage of Mr. Scott's trial, why have you specifically requested against it? Because I'm getting the distinct impression that you are afraid that it would some how weaken your case?"

The smug bastard, I'd seen so many of them. They were always trying trick you into saying things you didn't want to say.

"Oh see that's where you're wrong. I'm confident that my client is innocent in this case. I've asked that the media not be allowed to enter the court room because I don't want to make a spectacle out of this."

"Spectacle? I'm sorry but given Mr. Scott's position, I think the public has the right to know don't you think?"

"I disagree. Just because my client is a celebrity doesn't mean that his private life is like an open book. He has his right to privacy and I intend on keeping it that way. My client has always been a good man, a good son, a caring brother, not to mention an exceptional basketball player. Letting the media in would only tarnish the image that he's worked so hard to build. He is not a criminal and we will not let the media paint him as one."

Hah! Take that mister big fat crime reporter! Nathan may not be as wonderful as I made him out to be, but he's a hell of a lot better than you are. At least he's not a story hungry maniac who'll stoop to any level to get juicy gossip.

"You speak so strongly of him. We know of your former marriage, have you stayed close after the divorce?"

Okay that does it. Let me at 'em. Or that's what I was thinking at the time. But it's not like I could actually go and rip his head off like I was planning to do in my head.

So what I did was I imitated that fake sugary smile that he had been giving me all afternoon all the while trying to get a peek at my practically non existent cleavage and I replied, "Mr. Jagielski, as I mentioned on the phone, my personal life as well as that of my client's is something not to be discussed. Now if you have anymore questions regarding the case, I'd be happy to answer them. If not, then I must be going because I frankly have better things to do than to disclose personal details which serve no purpose other than to make your story more gossip worthy.

And with that, I promptly shook his hand and left the building, as fast as I could. How could people love so much attention? Being in that room was just suffocating. How people like Nathan could endure that kind of torture day in and day out, I would never understand.