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CHAPTER 17
She had been able to avoid Nathan successfully for seven days and she wishes to continue this as long as she can. His behaviour towards her has really started taking a toll on her. She just assumed that he wouldn't be able to hurt her if she never saw him. How wrong had she been! Haley received the shock of her life yesterday at school when the whole school filled with rumours of Nathan Scott a.k.a. the king of THH kissing his ex-girlfriend Peyton Sawyer. Haley felt like her world had stopped when she heard this. She felt pain like no other course through her.
She ran to the bathroom, thinking she'll breakdown. She locked herself in a stall for the whole first hour, not crying, not moving at all. She couldn't cry about it and she wondered why. She hadn't expected Nathan to move on like this, especially with Peyton of all people. She wondered if Nathan and Peyton thought it was okay for them to do something like this to her. They made it very clear that they weren't thrilled about her return but she always hoped that they still cared about her. Haley felt anger coursing through her and all that anger was channelled to Nathan and Peyton. Finally realising how pathetic she was, hiding in the bathroom, she got out and went into her next class. By the time it was lunch time, all the pitying looks and the snarky comments sent her way had got the best of her and she cut the rest of the day off to go home. Once she reached home, she finally broke down and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, she woke up to realise that most of the space in her bed was taken up by Brooke who had slept over, which brings her to the current situation of trying to get Brooke to wake up to go to school.
"Brooke", Haley was shaking her slightly to which she just received an incoherent mumble. Haley vaguely remembers Brooke checking up on her last night. She felt touched that Brooke was being so caring. "Brooke", she called a little loudly which seemed to do the trick since Brooke shot straight up from the bed.
"What... where... Haley?" she questioned as if she was still trying to figure out where she was. It took a moment for her to realise that she was in Haley's room and the reason why she had come here in the first place. "Hey" said Brooke cautiously, "How are you"?
"A little better" she gave her a small smile. It should be better considering she wasn't crying anymore. Actually who was she kidding! She had a whole hour to herself and her thoughts before she woke Brooke up. She thought lot about the previous day's events as well as the days before that. By the end of the hour, she painfully and unwillingly accepted the fact that her relationship with Nathan wasn't going anywhere. He has obviously moved on and it seems pointless for her to chase after him now. This realization was not soothing her at all. She wanted to curl into a ball and just lay down all day in bed but she knew she had to face it someday and Haley decided to put up a brave face starting now.
She turned to Brooke, the most unexpected form of support she had ever since she came back and said, "Get ready for school ya dork".
Haley made a feeble attempt to smile but Brooke could say it was strained. "It's okay if you want to skip school today", Brooke said sympathetically, "we could do something fun instead". Brooke tried to sound more cheery because she didn't want Haley to stress out.
"No Brooke I think it's time for me to face facts", said Haley, "I've been avoiding this for too long", she sighed.
"Okay" Brooke nodded "but we'll stick together for most of the day alright. Besides we both know I'm better at dealing with those bitches at school". Brooke had a triumphant look on her face which made Haley laugh lightly.
She was glad for this light mood since Haley was aware that the day will be nothing like this moment. In a way she is glad that Brooke will be with her throughout the day to keep her a little relaxed.
The girls spoke a little bit more about easy things before getting ready and riding together in Brooke's car to school. Brooke was adamant about taking Haley to school every day since she didn't want Haley riding the 'death trap' called her bike. They reached school at usual time and walked towards their lockers but paused momentarily at the hallway when they were able to hear a familiar voice booming through some speakers in the corridor. They followed the voice and turned around the corner and sure enough, they saw Lucas in the display screen in the corridor, talking about his mom.
Haley was utterly surprised since she had no idea why Lucas was talking about his mom and displaying it to the whole school. "What is this?" she asked turning to Brooke.
Brooke had a look of panic cross her face as realization dawned upon her about the current video playing. She quickly pulled Haley into a corner. "Remember I told you about a video recording that the whole school had made which would be released in fifty years?" said Brooke, fear swirling in her eyes.
"Uh-huh" Haley nodded having a clear idea as to what was going on but still drawing blanks about Brooke's current state of unease.
"Well fifty years came a lot sooner than I thought", Brooke said sarcastically. And to her utter surprise, Haley started cracking up in response. "What?" squeaked Brooke.
"Nothing", said Haley still smiling, "just thinking that there'll be a lot of funny shit in that video". If looks could kill Haley would be dead right now. Brooke was clearly pissed off but Haley couldn't figure out why. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
"No nothing's wrong", said Brooke sarcasm dripping from her voice, "unless you consider a video of me going topless in front of the whole school nothing".
"What?"
"I flashed the camera during that video.
"Brooke, why would you do that?"
"Trust me you don't wanna know my reason but the fact remains that I flashed my breasts at the camera and if you don't help me switch it off right now, everyone is gonna see it", Brooke yelled, her voice getting louder with each word.
Haley was momentarily fumbling for a response, still stunned by Brooke's stupidity. "Ya alright, lets go", her friend needed her and that's what it took to bring her out of her trance.
The girls went over to the display screen searching for a button or something which would turn it off. Haley was praying for that button or else she was afraid that Brooke might break the screen with something. Lucas was concluding his speech about all the people he loves or some crap like that.
Brooke frantically looked around when she couldn't find a switch. "How do turn this thing off?" she asked turning to the students who were staring at the girls like they were crazy. At that moment Lucas said goodbye followed by a moment of silence.
Brooke continued searching for the off switch. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her sidekick's movements slow down before she completely turned still and focussed all her attention on the screen. Brooke was about to yell at her roommate to get moving when Nathan's voice was heard.
"So you want me to say something about myself", said Nathan from the video, "what's the point" he shrugged. He looked miserable and cold. His hair was dishevelled and he had dark circles around his eyes. He still looks gorgeous, Haley thought. Haley was curious to what he was going to say. Taking in his appearance, part of her knew what he was going to say but she still hoped she was wrong. "Trust is a lie..." went on Nathan's voice. He continued to say a lot of depressing facts and Haley sighed knowing that her name was going to come up anytime.
"Fifty years from now I hope you got what you want Haley", said video Nathan. And there it is people, thought Haley bitterly. Even Brooke stopped looking for the off button when Haley's name was mentioned. "Because meeting you was the worst mistake of my life", with that being said he walked off the camera frame.
Haley didn't know what happed at that moment. She expected him to say something like this but it still snapped something within her. Her knees felt weak, ready to buckle up any time. She looked around not really sure what she was searching for. Her eyes landed on Brooke for a moment. The bubbly girl had a look of concern on her face for her roommate. Haley averted her eyes again only to land on Nathan and Peyton standing on the other side of the hallway. Nathan had a guilty look on his face while Peyton just looked sorry.
Haley could hear Brooke's voice in the background but she didn't pay much attention to it. She looked back at Nathan and he seemed to be taking tentative steps towards her. This seemed to bring back her senses as she snapped out of her daze and walked away. She could hear Nathan calling after her and her throat tightened a bit more. She took off in an almost sprint until she barged into the ladies washroom. She didn't slow down, until she locked herself in one of the stalls, thankful that the whole washroom was empty since it is class hours. And only when she was in the safe confines of the bathroom stall did she let a sob escape her lips. Suddenly everything hit her like a ton of bricks – Nathan, the tour, the pregnancy, Nathan and Peyton kissing, the video. All these incidences ganged up on her and seemed to take up all the air out of her. She felt like someone was choking her and that breathing was a huge task. The tears didn't stop either. Her knees felt weak so she slid down to sit on the ground, folding her legs and hugging them to her chest, still sobbing, not knowing how to get a grip of herself.
She was mildly surprised to hear banging on the stall door followed by Brooke's voice calling for her. "Haley", called Brooke still banging on the door, "Haley open the damn door, you better not be doing something stupid right now". Brooke was worried to say the least. Her friend looked so broken before she ran off, she had no idea how to comfort the sobbing girl but all this stress wasn't good for the baby and she didn't care how, but she was going to help her roommate no matter what.
Haley was still on the floor. Tears were still freely flowing down her cheeks but she calmed down a little bit. At least it didn't feel like someone was choking her anymore. The banging at her door stopped. Guess even Brooke got tired of my issues. Before she could cry anymore, Brooked called out her name again but somehow this time, her voice sounded a lot closer than before, it also seemed to be coming from above her. Abruptly Haley looked up and sure enough, Brooke was peeking over the stall. "Brooke", said Haley and she even laughed at her friend's antiques; however the laugh turned into another sob, "what are you doing?"
"What does it look like", bit out Brooke, still trying to adjust herself into a safe position on top of the commode, "I'm trying to make sure my friend doesn't do anything stupid in a school bathroom".
Haley couldn't help but laugh at that "Don't worry Brooke I have no sharp objects on me". Brooke always had a knack of making her feel better. She was so grateful that Brooke was in her life.
"Haley", Brooke's voice softened when she looked at her distressed friend, "Nathan's an idiot. You are a wonderful girl and it is his loss if he can't see past your mistakes".
"I'm still having his child Brooke", Haley gave her a small smile. This was one of the few times when Haley regretted being pregnant. She immediately chastised herself for such thoughts. No matter what happens, a defenceless baby should not suffer for the mistakes that she made.
"Just come out so I can hug you", Brooke spoke softly.
Despite all the drama in Haley's life, her parents were successful in making the first ten years of her life wonderful. It all came crashing down when Lydia James died but Jimmy did his best to fill in as both parents and most of the time, he was successful until he went to jail. It was her responsibility to not screw this kid up and she was going to do it no matter how much it would hurt her. Despite being a messed up seventeen year old, she did have a sort of motherly compassion to this baby.
Thinking of this baby gave her some courage and perspective. She stopped crying and felt a new bravery settle over her. At that moment something different dawned upon her. That was the moment she realised how much she loves this baby. Despite the bad timing, she knew that she never would have aborted this baby nor would she ever be able to give it up. She loved it and wanted to protect it from the world. Suddenly, she didn't feel so lonely anymore she knew she always has her child who she would love to no extent.
Haley stepped out of the bathroom soon after, hugging Brooke for a few minutes before the girls decided to take the day off. They both made it out of the bathroom only to stop dead in their tracks at the sight of Nathan Scott leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door.
"What do you want" snapped Brooke.
Nathan had a guilty look on his face. He ignored Brooke and turned to Haley "I need to talk to you".
"Oh" Brooke laughed "if you think I am letting you anywhere within a five meter radius of her, you-"
"Brooke", Haley cut her off mid-rant.
Brooke looked at her friend and knew instantly why she was interrupted. "He doesn't deserve it", said Brooke, getting a little upset at Haley for putting herself through it again.
"I know", Haley smiled. Nathan's head shot up at that, his face held a pained expression while Brooke just smiled triumphantly. With one last glare sent Nathan's way, Brooke walked off.
The pair waited in awkward silence not knowing what to say. Finally Nathan broke the silence "I'm sorry about the video".
"It's okay" she smiled sadly, "that was a hard time for you. Of course you would be bitter about me".
"I'm pretty sure I was drunk off my ass when we made that video".
"Drunk on school day", Haley questioned with a smile. Nathan nodded in response and they both shared a small, awkward laugh.
"Look, I'm sorry about all this", Nathan started again, "I don't like hurting you Haley and that video was made a long time ago".
"It's not about the video Nathan", she sighed, "it's about everything else". Nathan nodded his head in understanding. "I guess the video opened my eyes to a lot of things and it got overwhelming", she explained to which Nathan looked a little confused. Haley noticed this. "I heard about you and Peyton", she explained.
Realisation dawned upon him, "There is no me and Peyton, it was just a misunderstanding".
"So u didn't... you guys didn't kiss?" she asked hopefully.
"Well... I..." he stammered, "it happened", he finally admitted, "but it's not what you-".
"Nathan, on my last doctor's appointment", she looked at him pointedly, "you know the one that you missed", to which Nathan looked down guiltily, "the doctor told me that my blood pressure is very high".
Nathan's head shot up at this. "Are you okay? What about the baby?"
"I'm fine, the baby's fine" her heart soared at his concern for them, "for now", she finished.
"What do you-"
"I've been stressing a lot about everything these days", she cut him off again, "I didn't really think about the baby much. I guess the thought that I was going to be a mother hadn't sunk in yet", she shrugged.
"I know it's surreal, but it's happening and I'm sorry I didn't come to the appointment", he apologised, "from now on, I'm going to be completely committed to the baby", he paused for a moment, "and you", he finished.
"What are you-", she started.
"I'm tired of trying to hurt you for a mistake made long back, I want us to move forward", he explained, "hopefully together".
She was stunned, her heart soared but she shook her head to clear it. "I can't".
"What do you mean you can't?"
"Just thinking of you stresses me out", she said trying not to break down again, "I love you but I cannot go through all this stress when my child's health is on the line".
"Our child Haley", he was irritated, "and I am trying here. I'm sorry for what I've put you through, I really am but we have to find a way for us".
"So kissing Peyton was a way for us?" she asked.
"That was a misunderstanding", his voice rose, "it didn't mean anything. Besides it's not the first time something like this has happened", he stated pointedly.
She knew he was talking about the kiss with Chris and that brought them back to the old mistakes which she was determined to leave behind them at any cost. "See this is why us trying again is a bad idea. It opens up old wounds, something I shouldn't be worrying about right now so I'm just done".
"You're done?"
"Yes", and she looked determined, "I'm done. You can do whatever you want but I clearly have no part in it".
Nathan scoffed at that, "This is just like you", he said, "running away when things get too hard".
"It's not like that, I'm just trying to do what's best here for the baby and-".
"Whatever Haley", he sighed, "I can't deal with you right now. You're impossible". He sighed again before walking off. He had to walk away because he couldn't let her see the tears in his eyes. At least this time he wasn't completely invested emotionally like the last time.
Haley kept staring at his back, still having second thoughts about her decision. She knew it would help out her child but her heart still called out to him. With one last dejected sigh, she turned around to walk out of the campus to the parking lot, where Brooke was waiting for her. She sees a lot of ice cream and crying in her future right now and Brooke was the right company for such stuff.
And that's it for this chapter. I know I promised the school shooting and it is coming up. I didn't want to add that part to this chapter and make it extra super lengthy. Let me know what you think. Remember, it's no fun without the reviews so leave me some love and/or hate guys.