AN: See previous disclaimer...

Thank you again to those of you that are still reading this story. I'm having a hard time getting updates out more often, I'll try and work on being better about it. I noticed a little drop in traffic so I'm just trying to figure out if/what the reason might be. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. I enjoy reading them and finding out what you liked or didn't like or what you think might happen next. Special thanks to; Cocboheme, several different guest posts, 123, CoachMom, woz1971, Blue, GottaluvNaley Cocoboheme. Sorry for the shorter chapter, just seemed to be how it worked out this time around. I'm kinda curious to see what predictions people might have and stuff. Don't be shy :)

~~~ "I'm Never Alone, I'm Alone All the Time" ~~~

* Chapter Twenty*

Nathan made his way down the court dribbling the ball gracefully making his way around his current opponent. He passed the ball to a team mate and continued on his way towards the hoop. He turned to the right just in time to see the ball sailing through the air with just enough time for him to hopefully guide it into the hoop. His feet left the floor as he jumped just high enough for his finger tips to tap the ball toward the hoop. The crowd erupted into cheers of disappointment as Nathan tapped the ball too hard and it went completely over the other side of the hoop. The second his feet were on the floor again he turned around completely. Anticipation and excitement were drained from his body. The seat was still empty.

He jogged back to his team's bench for a brief time out. He sipped on water as he sat for a moment resting his legs. His coach was giving the team a pep talk and he knew he needed to listen but he just couldn't seem to focus. The fourth quarter was well under way and still no sign of her. Somehow he had managed to hold himself together during the first half when he played but everything was slowly unraveling right before him. With only five minutes left in the game, Nathan Scott was officially losing it and he couldn't get control again.

It didn't surprise Nathan one bit. He was actually surprised it hadn't happened sooner. He was starting to think his coach had suddenly become blind. How could he not be with how he had been playing the last few minutes? Nathan knew it was only a matter of time and didn't blame his coach when he finally pulled him from the game. He felt a sense of relief from the internal struggle he was having. Haley James was officially messing with his game.

Haley pulled her phone from her pocket and nearly had a heart attack when she saw the actual time. She couldn't believe how late it had gotten. But one thing was clear, Haley James had had enough. She exited the booth and made her way towards Peyton.

"Well, Haley I think you're really starting to nail that guitar piece. Maybe a few more takes and then we'll probably have it." Peyton said with a fake smile.

Haley looked over at Chris who looked as exhausted as she felt. She walked over to the couch and gathered her purse.

"Peyton, I think this is getting ridiculous. I know for a fact you have more than enough takes of our vocals and guitar to make a decent cut of this song. It shouldn't take nearly 7 hours to record one song! I'm done!" Haley declared as she shoved her phone in her purse as she retrieved her car keys.

"Settle down Hales.." was all Chris managed to get out before Peyton spoke.

"Haley, I'm trying to get the best performance out of you for this track and I just don't think you've given me perfection yet. I know you, and you won't be happy with anything but." Peyton stated knowing just how to get underneath Haley's skin. Haley James the artist was a perfectionist and Peyton was counting on it.

Haley hesitated and engaged in a stare down with Peyton. Peyton only returned the glare in hope she'd pressure her into staying. She had agreed with Dan that Haley would miss the game to prevent the "happy" couple from spending any more time together as well as to prevent a possible story to break of the romance. Haley let out an exhausted sigh signaling to Chris she had finally made her decision.

The post-game interviews Nathan participated in were a blur. He tried his best to give generic answers mainly in a lame attempt to get them over with. Luckily the Clippers had managed to pull off a win together in spite of his lack luster performance. He was anxious to shower and get the hell out of the arena.

"Yo Scott you ok man?" Parker asked as he approached Nathan who was already finished getting dressed.

Nathan looked up from tying his shoes and replied "I don't know, I just couldn't get it together tonight."

"You seemed really distracted. Was it because Haley never showed? What's up with that anyway?" He questioned sounding concerned.

"I just gotta get out of here right now. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that Nathan bolted from the locker room and quickly made his way to the parking ramp. He got into his car and instantly opened his glove compartment to retrieve his iPhone. He wasn't sure why his phone had ended up in there but old habits die hard. He slid his finger across his phone and entered in his password. He hoped he'd find a message from Haley explaining her whereabouts but came up empty handed. He was just about to call her when an incoming phone call interrupted him. Without looking he quickly answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Nathan, we need to talk. You want to explain to me what's going on with you?"

"Not now Dan."

"You owe me an explanation for your shitty performance tonight. You lacked focus tonight." Dan stated knowing fully well what had happened to Nathan. As his agent/manager, he disliked having his client perform badly but knew it would be worth it in the long run. The more proof he could create to prove to Nathan that having a relationship with Haley James was fatal to his career the better.

"Obviously I'm well aware of how I played tonight. I don't need you reminding me or anyone else for that matter. Look, I'll call you tomorrow Dad. I just can't do this right now." Nathan replied and then hung up the phone not waiting for a response from Dan.

Dan sat in his office feeling a mix of emotions. He hated the tone of voice when Nathan had a bad game. Dan knew how hard Nathan was on himself and how badly he wanted to do well. It was all he dreamed about as a boy, playing in the NBA. Everything came crashing down after Nathan's accident but he managed to fight back through his painful rehab. Dan was proud of not only his client but his son. He was there for Nathan when he needed to rely on someone else. Dan was not about to let some chick push him aside and mess with his client.

Nathan resisted the urge to call Haley and decided to head for home instead. He knew everyone was entitled to a bad game now and then but he felt the standards were different for him. The sports critics were just waiting pounce on him for him a slip up to start doubting his "recovered" knee and his overall value as a player for the Clippers. He couldn't believe he had let his game get effected so easily. It wasn't just that fact Haley hadn't showed up or called. Sure that bothered him and of course he was concerned with her whereabouts. It was the empty chair that really got him. Way down into his heart.

Simply the vision of an empty chair sent him years back. Back to a place he never wanted to visit again. It had taken everything he had to work through the pain and he wasn't about to let it come up again. He decided to take the long way home in order to allow himself some time to think while he drove. He shut his phone off, turned the radio up and just drove.

Haley jumped out of her car and quickly headed into her house in a fit of rage. She couldn't believe what had just happened and the fact she had let it go on as long as it did. She had started to feel it was a bit strange that Peyton asked her to do take after take of the same line in the song but trusted her. She was their manager and was well respected in the industry. But everyone had their limist and Haley hit hers. She thought back to the stare down she'd engaged in earlier at the studio. Peyton had pushed her to the brink and she couldn't take it anymore. She finally fought back. Chris had sent Haley a text message after she'd fled the studio voicing words of encouragement for her. He knew the struggle she put herself through before she finally stood up to Peyton and walked out.

She let herself in the front door and slammed it shut behind herself. It felt good knowing no one was home. She headed upstairs to her room and changed into her work out clothes. She needed to expel some of the anger inside of her. She tried Nathan's phone for the third time and it went straight to voicemail again.

"Nathan, it's me. I'm so sorry about your game and missing it. I wanted to be there and tried to be there. Like I said on the other message, I should've left the studio sooner. I'm just sorry. I don't know if you're caught up with post-game interviews or still stuck in the locker room. Please call me back whenever you get this. I love you." Haley said into her phone and then ended her call.

Her phone let out an annoying peep and then went black.

"Shit!" she exclaimed and then started looking for her charger. Of course it would die right now. She plugged her phone in and placed it beside her bed. Then Haley dug out her iPod and her running shoes and headed back downstairs. She debated about using her treadmill or heading outside instead. There was something about feeling the wind in her face. She knew it was getting dark but figured her hot pink tank top would be reflective enough at dusk for drivers to see her. She wouldn't be gone that long anyway. She headed out the garage door instead so she wouldn't need her keys and then took off down the street. As her feet hit the pavement, Haley slowly felt herself start to let go of her anger. She picked up the pace and she continued on her run.

Peyton sat in her office with her back towards the door. She was utterly surprised Haley had left against her wishes. Something seemed to be shifting in Haley and she was becoming more confident and sure of herself. Those were indeed excellent qualities for the lead singer of The Fire Pistols to possess. Now all Peyton needed to do was harness Haley James. At least she still had some control over Chris which could prove to be useful. Chris had stayed after to ensure the remaining guitar parts were recorded and mixed properly. They shortly parted ways and Peyton fled the studio once Chris had completed the last take. She brought up the last number in her phone and hit send.

"Well, you should certainly be satisfied with the results." Peyton said into her phone.

"You held up your end of the deal, kept her from the game, and stopped another possible story leak for the night. Nice work Ms. Sawyer." Dan said into his phone.

"I plan on stepping up Haley's schedule over the next week so she will be beyond busy. She's not going to know what hit her. Radio interviews, photo shoots, and late night TV appearances…all great publicity for her. Keeping Haley busy should help alleviate the problem on your end don't you think?" Peyton replied.

There was a long pause as Peyton continued to listen on her phone. She jotted down a few notes on some scratch paper from her desk.

"That all sounds good. I will be in touch to let you know how Haley is dealing with things." Peyton concluded and then ended her call. She looked out her office window praying their plan wouldn't back fire.

Chris stood in the studio hallway in utter confusion. His intention was to make an attempt to smooth things over with Peyton on Haley's behalf before he left the studio. However, Chris had overheard one side of a conversation that he knew he shouldn't have.

Nathan found himself driving a familiar route without having to think about where he was going. He had taken it many times before. He could probably get there with a blind fold on if he had to even though he hadn't been there in quite some time. He pulled into the drive way and slowly got out of the car. He looked around at the surrounding houses pleased no one else was there to greet him. Maybe he should've called first but it was too late now. He was already there and there was no turning back now. The front light had already turned on. He scratched his forearm suddenly feeling anxious for some reason as he waited on the front step. He pressed the doorbell button and took a step back as he waited. He rubbed his buzzed head desperately trying to settle himself.

The door slowly swung up and Nathan turned to face the door.

"Nate? This is a surprise. It's been a while since you've been here."

He shifted his weight slightly between his feet suddenly unable to speak.

"Why don't you come in?" said the voice behind the door.

Nathan nodded and stepped into the house closing the door behind him.

Haley wiped the sweat from her forehead as she made a sharp left turn as she began to make her way back to her house. She had gotten a bit carried away and ran further south than she originally intended. Her legs hard started to feel slightly numb signaling she had run far enough. The run allowed her time to reflect on the day and what had happened at the studio. She tried to pick up the pace as she noticed it was starting to get a little too dark to be out running alone. Her body felt tired and was lacking energy. Haley started to feel a little dizzy and realized then she hadn't had anything of real substance since her breakfast that morning with Nathan. She had eaten a few snacks while recording with Chris but definitely not lunch or dinner. She shouldn't have been so careless to run without eating properly. She slowed her pace to a brisk walk as she gathered her bearings a bit hoping the light headed feeling would go away. She had roughly half a mile to go before she made it back to her house.

Haley took a deep breath and changed the song on her iPod. Once she was satisfied with her song selection, she managed to take off running again trying channel a new source of energy to get her home safely. She ignored the shaking feeling in her legs and pushed herself even harder. She noticed a car's headlights appear behind her and she could sense the car was moving slowly. Feeling glad she had grabbed her baseball hat before headed out, she pulled at the bill of her hat to make sure it was secure on her head. She glanced to her left and saw the outline of two large figures in the car. Haley pulled at her ear buds and removed one from her ear as she continued running at an even faster pace suddenly feeling uneasy. The sound of the engine grew louder as the car pulled up right next to her. Maybe it was the fact it was dark now or the slow moving car but Haley had officially gotten herself spooked. 'Why had she let her phone battery die and leave the house without it?' She thought to herself.

Haley felt her body starting to give out again from pushing harder to get home quickly. She chanced another glance towards the car and saw it had slowed down even more. Something didn't feel right.

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