Hi guys, sorry I haven't been updating as frequently now. I've got exams coming up next week so I'm trying to cram everything in. So here's the next chapter. It tells you a bit more about Michael. I hope you'll like it. It's a lot shorter than usual so sorry about that. Cheers!

Chapter 8

They both pulled back at the same time from the kiss, grinning at each other. "Was it weird for you like it was for me?" Haley was the first to ask. She covered her face with her hands and peered at Michael from in between her fingers.

"Totally, it felt like I was kissing my sister. Not that I have one. God what are we doing?" They both laughed till tears flowed down their cheeks. A few minutes later they sobered up. "I meant what I said Haley. Nathan's lucky to have someone like you to love. You are an incredible person," Michael said wiping the tears from his cheeks.

At the mention of Nathan's name, Haley's mood changed. "I don't know Michael. It just seems too complicated. Things were much easier when we were friends."

"Things always are." Michael looked out onto the ocean, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Any idea what you're gonna do? I mean, you gotta tell him at some point. You can't just leave him in the dark Haley. It's not fair to him and it's not fair to you." He picked up a pebble and threw it into the sea. "Haley, you can't have a relationship if you can't be honest, you know that don't you?"

Haley smirked at him. "Since when do you know so much about relationships?"

"Since I've had dozens of girls after me for my money. Sure I had fun with those girls but it gets old after a while. Look, I don't know Nathan like you do, but I do know that he really cares about you, and not in the friendly way. Just give him a chance Haley. You don't want to wake up one day thinking what could happen."

Haley covered her face with her hands and groaned in frustration. "You know, for once in my life I have no idea what I'm gonna do. We had a huge fight this morning and we haven't spoken since. Maybe it's better this way." Suddenly an idea popped into her head. "Hey, do you want to come to Brooke and Lucas's wedding this weekend? Come on, it'll be fun." Michael looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Ok fine. I need someone to sit next to me. With this thing with Nathan, I know it's be gonna be really awkward. Please!"

Michael laughed at her. "I knew there was a catch. It can't be that you like my company that much." Seeing that she was really serious about the invitation, he relented. "Fine, I'll go."

"Thanks. I owe you one. And I love your company. You're a good friend." Haley smiled gratefully at him. He grinned and put his arm around her shoulders and started walking.

"You're not so bad yourself. So tell me about your friends. I mean since I'm gonna sit at the same table, I should know a thing or two about them."

"You already know about Nathan so I'm not gonna bore you anymore. Brooke, Peyton and I went to the same school since we were kids although I knew Brooke first before I knew Peyton. We were in preschool together and were having lunch one day. My mom packed me a sandwich like she did everyday and I swore I was gonna throw up if I had to eat another one of those. Brooke's mom packed her something fancy which I didn't even know how to pronounce at that time and she actually looked at it in disgust. So we exchanged lunches and we did that almost every day throughout preschool. I think we were attracted to how different we both are. And Peyton, she was Brooke's best friend and the three of us just gelled."

"And Lucas and Jake?"

"Well, Lucas and Nathan are half brothers and we've hung out since we were kids. He was always the one who had to be the referee when Nathan and I fought. Well, him and their dad, Dan. And Jake, well-" she stopped to think. "You know what, I have no idea how he got into the picture. One day it was just the five of us and the next day there was Jake. But one thing's for sure, we were always there for each other all these years. It's like we're a little family of our own."

Michael looked deep in thought. "That's nice. Growing up I didn't have a lot of friends and I have no siblings. My parents sent me to a private school where all the rich kids went. I hated it. Everybody was so pretentious and were just there for the sake of being there. They didn't have anything to worry about coz they had their rich parents to turn to. I decided to concentrate on my studies. I wanted to prove that I could make it on my own without my parent's money. And I did. Until a year ago."

"What happened a year ago?"

"My parents died in a car crash leaving everything to me. But I haven't used a single cent of it." He went quiet as he reminisced.

"Oh yeah, I read about it in a magazine somewhere. I'm so sorry. Do you miss them?"

"You have no idea how much I miss them. They were awesome. They always made sure they had time for me no matter how busy they were. Sure they sent me to a rich kids school but they had the best of intentions. They only gave me like twenty bucks allowance each week and if I wanted more, I had to work for it. I'm glad they did that. It's what's made me into who I am today."

Haley leaned her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm sure they would be so proud of you." She started to yawn, feeling sleepy lulled by the sounds of the waves crashing.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "Come on, I'll take you home. You look like you're ready to drop to the ground any second."

Haley laughed. "I feel like I'm ready to drop to the ground any second." They put their arms around each other's waist and started to head back quietly, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Nathan laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling, something he had been doing for the last couple of hours. He was completely baffled by Haley's behaviour this morning. He really thought that last night would be the start of a new relationship between him and Haley. Obviously he was wrong. He held his cell phone in his hand, contemplating whether or not to call her. They have fought before, but always as friends. This was different and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Maybe he could go over to her house and talk it over. Determined, he got up and headed out.

Half an hour later, he was outside her house. He rang the bell and took a deep breath. After a few minutes it was obvious that she wasn't home and it just occurred to him that she said something about going out tonight. Not willing to back down, he waited at her doorsteps. A few minutes later he saw a car pull up at her driveway and saw Haley come out of the car. With Michael.

"Nathan. What are you doing here?" she asked nervously. So much for her plan of keeping her night out with Michael a secret.

He stood up and walked up to her, anger flashing in his eyes. "I came her to talk. But obviously you're busy."

"Nathan wait," she said, reaching for his hand.

"I think I should go. Good night Haley."

"Yeah, I think you should go too." Nathan gritted his teeth as he glared at Michael.

"Nathan, why don't you calm down for a second?" Michael put his hand on Nathan's shoulder.

Nathan pushed him away roughly. "Shut up! This is between me and Haley."

Haley pulled him aside looked at him squarely in the eyes. "Nathan, don't be mad at Michael."

"You're right. It's you I should be mad at. This is why you can't see me tonight? Coz you had a date with this guy?"

"Nathan will you please stop yelling?" Haley looked at Michael apologetically. "You should go Michael. Thanks for tonight. I'll call you later." Michael nodded silently before getting into his car and drove away.

As soon as he was gone, Nathan faced Haley. "You're unbelievable Hales. You ran away after we spent the night together and now I see you out with another guy?" He raked his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes. "I don't understand it. Why are you doing this?"

"Last night was a mistake," she said quietly.

"A mistake? Is that what you think it was?" He looked at her with a mixture of hurt and disbelief. "Haley, will you please tell me what's going on? Somehow between last night and this morning something happened and I want to know what."

She could already feel a lump forming in her throat. "Nothing happened. Nathan, I just think that maybe we are better off as friends."

"I think you know by now that we are more than just friends. Haley look at me." He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. Eyes that glistened with tears. "I love you."

"Please don't say that," she whispered as tears fell freely down her cheeks.

"I can't. I cannot not say it. I love you," his voice broke as he said the words he so longed to say to her. He brushed away the tears from his face. "Tell me that you don't feel the same about me. Tell me and I'll leave you alone."

Haley closed her eyes torn between telling him the truth and lying. Either one would still hurt. "I don't," she quietly said. "And you don't either. You just like the idea of us being together."

Once again he felt anger coursing through his veins. "I cannot believe you're saying that. Is it because of Michael?"

"Nathan this has got nothing to do with Michael, so stop blaming him."

"No? Why is it that things started to get weird between us when he came along?"

"You know what? Things are weird because you make it weird. One of these days you're gonna have to grow up," Haley said, her voice rising with every word.

"Me? Grow up? Why don't you grow up and stop hiding things from me?" They stood staring at each other for the longest time.

"Why can't you just let it go? Nathan, you're my best friend and I hate it when we fight. Can we just go back to being best friends without all these complications hanging over our heads?"

Nathan stared into the darkness. He wanted so much to shake her and put some sense into her but he knew better. There was nothing he could do right now. She had already made up her mind. He couldn't bear lose her and if being friends was what it took to keep her in her life, he was willing to do it.

"I'd better go. We've both had a long day and we're both obviously upset. But at least one of us had a good time today," he said sarcastically. He turned away and started to walk to his car.

"Nathan-" she called out but the words she wanted to say just hung in the air.

"Haley, you told me to let it go. I don't think I can ever do that and I don't think you can either. Why don't we just leave it at that?" And without another word, he drove away into the darkness.

So, what do you think? Good? Not good? I know it's a bit slow but there'll be plenty of drama later ;)