AN: I'm so sorry for the delay in posting a new chapter. My recovery from surgery threw me for a loop at first. Now that I'm feeling better and most importantly more inspired...I have a new chapter!

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I appreciate everyone who has reviewed this story so far. It makes a difference so THANK YOU!

Disclaimer: I own nothing :)

~~~~ "I'm Never Alone, I'm Alone All the Time"~~~
*Chapter Nine*

Friday afternoon a few hours outside Houston, TX

The Fire Pistols had driven all night and well into the next day after boarding the bus following their show. The band took some time to unwind after the show but eventually crashed. Quinn was the first to wake and emerged from her bunk. She groggily made her way up to speak with one of their drivers.

"Hey Frankie, what's up?" Quinn asked with a yawn. She glanced down at her watch and realized it was already afternoon. She didn't normally sleep that late.

"I was wondering when I'd see the likes of you guys today. Sleep ok?" He replied glancing over at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road again.

"Like a rock. It feels good to have a day and night off in the same 24 hour period. I'm looking forward to enjoying the hotel and room service when we finally get to Dallas. Shouldn't we be there by now? I thought our arrival time was around now." Quinn commented as she tried to remember what Peyton had said the day before when she called.

"I'm sure it felt good to sleep all day. Get that rest while you can! Speaking of Peyton, she's called me twice in the last 2 hours. Thinking someone should either answer their cells or just call her back. I don't want to deal with the wrath of her today." Frankie joked.

Quinn let a laugh escape mainly because it was true. Peyton was a force to be reckoned with when things weren't going her way.

"Sure thing Frankie!" And with that Quinn spun on her heels. She grabbed her phone and pulled it from the charging chord. She began to bring up Peyton's number when she heard noise coming from another bunk.

"Chris, Peyton wants you to call her right away!" Quinn said with a smile. She was pleased to be handing off that duty which would result in her being first into the shower.

Chris pulled back his bunk curtain and slowly crawled out. Quinn was already in the bathroom with the door closed by the time he became aware of what she had done.

"Really Quinn?" He said to himself. He wasn't all that surprised by her actions. It was either Haley or Quinn first in the shower each day on the bus. He was used to waiting on them, part of being in a band with two women. Chris retrieved his smartphone from the same location as Quinn had moments before and began to call Peyton.

He was pouring himself some coffee when she answered

"About time Keller! I've been trying for hours to get a hold of you guys. There's been a change in the schedule for tonight in Dallas." Peyton began.

"Lay it on me." Chris said urging her to continue.

He listened to Peyton intently hearing about the changes before asking a question, "What time do we need to be there?"

"Your car will drop you two off about 6. As for the other two, I'll pick them up at the hotel around 8:30 or so for their club appearance. Will that work?" Peyton questioned.

"I'll pass along the information for you. See ya in Houston then Peyt." He answered and then concluded his call.

He worked diligently on his phone for a minute or so searching the internet for information and suddenly stopped feeling satisfied with his results.

"Chris Keller thinks this evening just got a whole lot more interesting." He said to himself.

Later that evening at the hotel

Haley took one last look in the bathroom mirror before feeling satisfied with her look for the evening. She lightly ran her fingers through her wavy hair and gave it one last spray of hair spray. She gave herself a nod in the mirror signaling completion just as she heard a knock at her hotel room door.

"Coming!" She called out as she hurried to answer the door. She yanked it open and was startled by the sight in front of her.

"Are you serious? What do you think you're doing?" She questioned with a slight laugh. This was definitely not the sight she anticipated on the other side of the door. But then again, life is always full of surprises.

"What you don't like it?" He asked back

"Not in the slightest." She replied bluntly.

"OK I wasn't seriously going to wear this jacket. I'm just the delivery guy returning the item Quinn borrowed from you." Chris said as he walked past her into her room. He peeled off the tight leather jacket and draped it over a chair.

Haley shook her head with a grin "You can be a tool sometimes you know that?"

Chris offered a toothy smile back and said "All part of the Keller Charm. The car should be downstairs in 5 minutes. You ready?"

Haley took care as she zipped up her stiletto heeled boots before smoothing her jeans over them again.

"Don't I look ready? Will I be warm enough in this? I don't really want to freeze my ass off in there." Haley said looking at Chris for guidance.

He gave her a once over and nodded in agreement. "You won't get that cold trust me. I think you'll be surprised at how warm you actually might get once we get inside." He was trying his best to sound convincing.

With that Haley gathered the last of her belongings and then they exited the room together. They were met in the hotel lobby by their bodyguard, Steve, for the evening. He promptly escorted them to their waiting car out front of the hotel. Chris made an extra effort to keep Haley engaged with meaningful conversation on the ride to the venue. He didn't want to ruin the surprise after all.

"Wow, I can't believe we're already here. That sure was fast!" Haley stated with surprise as the car drove into an underground parking ramp.

Chris stepped out of the car first and held the door open for Haley behind him. They were given direct access inside the building through the VIP entrance. Haley found herself deep in thought as she followed Chris down a long hallway into their dressing room for the night. She was reflecting on what he had yammered on about in the car on the way there. For some reason he had brought up a new song idea at the most awkward time and she wanted to try to make a mental note so they could start work on it at a later date.

Nathan found himself insanely focused for a change. It had been a while since he had found the familiar mental state he was currently in. His body felt slightly different somehow after his morning workout. Any change in the condition of his body would be a cause for concern except this time it was for the better. A change he was readily embracing.

He allowed the pounding beats to consume his thoughts as his iPod continued to play. He planned on taking advantage of the last few minutes he had to himself before the evening began. After that, he had no clue where it might go but he was ready for it. He had waited long enough for this day to come.

Haley and Chris spent a few minutes relaxing in their dressing room before they warmed up briefly. Haley checked herself in the mirror one last time before they headed out to perform. She glanced over at Chris one more time trying to figure out what was going on with him. He seemed a little off.

"Hey Keller, you ok? You seem dare I say a bit nervous tonight." Haley said to him quietly as they were escorted down another long hallway again.

Chris had managed to hold himself together this far and he was cracking at the seams.

"Hales I forgot to tell you something earlier." Chris managed to get out just as they were approaching the entrance of the arena. He slowed his pace just a bit and turned to look her in the eyes.

"What is it?" She asked with concern.

"I lied earlier to you. It's not a hockey game we're singing the National Anthem for tonight. It's actually for a basketball game." He confessed with a sly fox like smirk.

Haley's eyes widened slightly and her brows frowned a bit. They stood in silence together looking at one another. Chris was waiting for Haley to connect the dots. Just then Haley looked over Chris' shoulder and saw the scoreboard which included the two teams scheduled to do battle that night.

"CHRIS! What did you do?" Haley nearly shrieked at him.

"I had nothing to do with setting this up! All I did was keep the sporting event a secret from you. I knew you would flip out kinda like you are now. Pull it together and embrace fate. It is was it is and you can't do anything about it now." He replied trying to calm Haley down as quickly as possible. Maybe it was a bad idea to keep the location a secret from her?

-
Nathan made every attempt to focus on his warm up shots. He found himself glancing at both entrances to the court trying to be discrete. He noticed the clock had run out for warming up and he handed off the basketball he was using to a ball runner. He jogged over to the Clippers team seats and grabbed a drink of water.

"You ready Scott?" Parker asked while raising one eyebrow.

Nathan nodded in response as let the cool water go down his throat.

"I gotta give you props man. How the hell you managed to arrange all of this I'll never know? But needless to say I'm genuinely impressed. What is it with this one anyway?" He questioned.

Nathan paused for a moment before he responded. "Something just feels different."

"As long as you're head stays in the game tonight I don't give a shit. We've gotta win tonight."

"If you think I'm going to go to all that effort to set this up and then lose the game you've got another thing coming." Nathan stated with confidence.

Parker and Nathan bumped knuckles before they headed towards center court to line up for the start of the game.

-
Haley took a few deep breaths before she followed Chris towards center court. Surprisingly the cheers of the crowd in response to their official announcement helped ease her nerves. She desperately wanted to glance around for visual confirmation but was hesitant to do so. She couldn't predict the type of reaction she would have and that scared her. She didn't like not having control over her emotions. Haley gripped the microphone tightly as the last of her nerves began to slowly leave her.

Chris glanced to his left and looked at Haley for confirmation she was ok. She offered a genuine smile back to him and he knew then everything would be ok. He quickly leaned close to her ear and said "You best give him one hell of a show James!"

Haley laughed out loud and was finally in the right mental state to nail this performance. The lights over the fans went out and she felt the increased heat from the spotlight which was now on her and Chris signaling it was indeed show time.

Nathan had thought he remembered everything about her from their first encounter. Was it possible she had gotten more beautiful since then? He shifted his weight between his feet as he felt the energy for the start of the game increase. He watched her closely as she strutted to center court. 'Damn she looked hot' He found himself thinking. His tradition "Scott" smirk found it's way to his face once he saw her laugh in response to whatever Chris had whispered to her. He waited in anticipation as she brought the microphone to her lips. Haley and Chris began singing the "Star Spangled Banner" in unison. It took a few lines before Haley felt in control and began to scan the players in front of them. The overwhelming pull inside of her nearly caused her to lose her place in the song as her eyes found his.

Crystal Blue.

Haley reminded herself of what Chris had said right before they began. She had a renewed sense of self as she held his gaze. She looked back at him now with seductive eyes instead. Nathan felt a connection as he looked into her eyes. He offered her a head nod when she completed the song before he jogged off towards his coach.

Haley stood a bit shocked by his actions. She had expected more of a response than that from Nathan after her performance. Haley was ripped from her thoughts by Chris' voice.

"Come on Hales!"

Haley followed Chris off the court over towards two courtside seats. He sat down and motioned for Haley to sit next to him.

"Were staying for the game? And courtside seats? How did you get tickets last minute?" Haley stated in disbelief.

Just then a man approached Haley and handed her a sealed envelope.

"For you Ms. James." He said as Haley took the envelope with a puzzled look on her face. She looked over to Chris for answers but wasn't given any. He looked as confused as she did. She quickly opened the envelope and pulled the note card out.

"Your move Haley James!-N"

She looked back up with surprise and immediately saw Nathan looking back at her. He had removed his warm ups and was now dressed just in his uniform. He offered her a cocky smile and a quick wave.

"What did it say?" Chris asked.

Haley responded to Chris without taking her eyes off of Nathan.

"I predict we're in for one hell of a game tonight!" She replied.

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