Chapter 23: A Tree Hill Raven always knows, you can't have the calm without the storm.

Haley sits at the table, enjoying the last few bites of her cheeseburger. She takes a sip of her beer, completely at ease. It was a beautiful day out, their group had found peace, at least for the moment, and her mind could rest. She absolutely, positively, had Nathan to thank for that.

She watches as her maybe-possibly-friends banter around the table. Peyton is scrolling through Nathan's phone, giving him a hard time about his pre-game music playlist ("Bon Jovi, really?") and Jake and Brooke are trying to convince Lucas that The Great Gatsby movie is better than the book ("All I'm going to say is… Leonardo DiCaprio"). It was nice to observe the quiet moments, she used to have an abundance of these little memories, and now, if she ever dared think of the past, it was never the quiet moments that came to mind. Being here, listening to a whole bunch of nothings, was a comfort she didn't realized she'd been lacking.

Eventually, Jake turns his attention to her.

"You're quiet over there," he points out.

"Just watching," Haley smiles. Jake eyes her, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Brooke, what are these paired games?"

"Don't ask me," Brooke says innocently. "It's a surprise."

"OK, let me rephrase. How competitive are they?" Jake inquires.

"Competitive enough. A little ridiculous but don't blame me, Bevin was in charge of them," Brooke remarks.

"You had me at 'Bevin was in charge,'" Jake states, hopping up from his seat. He checks his watch. "All right, we have about an hour before we have to get back down to the fields. Just enough time to do some damage."

"What does that even mean?" Peyton asks.

"It means you have to get up," Jake requests. "And follow me."

Jake makes a move to leave, stopping near the walking path that would lead them back across campus. He turns to find his friends amused, but unmoved, except for Haley who joins him. Finally, he cups his hands around his mouth, "Let's GO!"

Almost every table stops what they're doing, turning to watch Jake, then follows his eye line to the table. The group, now a little more aware of the attention being drawn, mouth various versions of 'what are you doing?' to Jake. Jake cups his hands around his mouth again, about to shout, causing Nathan to hop to his feet.

"Let's see what Jagelski wants," Nathan said. "He's a madman."

Jake and Haley charge on, a giggle escaping Haley's lips as she tried to keep up with his stride. Ever since the Thanksgiving she and Jake bonded, he'd always find a way to stir up some trouble, and always convinced her to be along side him. It was usually something silly, choc full of theatrics, but it gave her a break to be carefree. Today was no different.

"My partner in crime," Jake exclaims, kicking his pace up to a jog. Haley starts jogging with him, turning back to see their friends walking behind them. They'd catch up eventually.

Jake takes a turn down the path towards the lake, but then keeps going, weaving around the water's edge to enter the woods. They stop about a hundred feet in at the base of a gigantic oak tree – regal, and plump, and inviting. Jake grabs the lowest branch, and pulls himself up, before climbing higher and higher.

Haley knows exactly what he was looking for, and she gulps with unease at the thought. Oh freaking no.

…

10 Years Ago

On the eve of the first day of classes, the group sat around their dining hall table. Lucas bounced a basketball on his knee, waiting for Jake to finish eating before they hit the courts. He stared at Nathan and Haley, who were each thoughtfully writing in a notebook.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asks, intrigued.

"Nothing," Nathan replies, not even looking up from his paper. Haley smiles to herself, her heart warming at his dedication to this activity.

"No, Lucas is right," Brooke points out, her attention now drawn to the much-too-quiet twosome. "Classes haven't even started yet. What are you up to?"

Haley puts her pen down in a huff, raising her eyes to meet her nosey roommate. "If you must know, Nathan and I are making predictions."

"Predictions? For what, our season? Put me down for undefeated," Lucas quips.

"Luke," Nathan says, rolling his eyes. "For the school year."

"I don't get it," Brooke says. "What are you predicting? Straight A's. Haley doesn't need to predict that."

"No," Haley says with a laugh. "I know it's silly, but it's predicting where you'll be a year from now. What do you want to accomplish?"

"Self-fulfilling prophecy," Peyton says.

"Exactly!" Haley says, excited. "My mom and… actually just my mom and I, we've done this every year. Pretty much since I could talk. She was trying to get me to dream big. And if you dream big, you know what you want. And if you know what you want, you know what you can do to get there."

"I like it," Peyton observes. "Count me in."

"Sawyer," Nathan says. "This is kind of a me and Haley thing."

"Haley and me," Lucas points out.

"Whatever," Nathan grumbles. Haley eyes Nathan, his protectiveness of their relationship was always a shock. Like she was this precious jewel, when on most days she just felt like a pebble stuck in the sand.

"Nathan," Haley laughs. "They can join. Actually, I insist! It will be fun. I'm telling you, writing things down makes everything seem possible."

"Nerd," Jake says, his mouth full of food.

"Well, nerd or not," Haley starts.

"Nerd," the entire table, even Nathan, jokes. Haley rolls her eyes.

"Nerd or not," Haley starts again. "You should write down some predictions for the next year. We can hide them all together and a year from now, we'll see how we did."

"We're not going to be here a year from now," Brooke whines. "Don't remind me."

"OK, Graduation Day then," Haley counters. "After graduation, we'll sit together and read our predictions and see if they came true. What do you say?"

"I'm in," Lucas says. "I'll definitely be putting down leading scorer."

"Fat chance, brother," Nathan quips.

"Hey!" Haley squeals. "Number one rule of predictions is you can't tell anyone else what you wrote. It's bad ju-ju."

"Bad ju-ju," Nathan says with a laugh.

"Yep," Haley says. She takes her finger, tapping it on the side of his temple. "Keep it in that hot noggin' of yours."

Nathan leans over, kissing Haley. When he pulls back, a smile curls across her face, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"You're distracting me," she whispers.

"Oops," Nathan says, giving her a wink before returning to his notebook. Haley scoffs at his retreat. Brooke looks between the two in mock-disgust.

"All right, I've seen enough Naley this morning," Brooke declares, standing up from the table. "I have an outfit to pick out for tomorrow and predictions to write."

"Wait! Before you go," Haley states. "Let's meet tonight down by the lake. I'll stake out a stash house for the predictions."

"A stash house? What is this, Breaking Bad?" Peyton chides.

"No, definitely not," Haley responds, her voice uncharacteristically harsh.

"She hates Breaking Bad," Nathan says, rubbing her back. "I've tried to get her to watch a million times."

"Sorry," Haley says, brushing it off. "Anything else, I'm game."

"Noted," Peyton says with a nod. "Well, Brookie? Shall we?"

"We shall," Brooke says, extending her elbow to Peyton. Peyton loops her arm through it and they walk off. Haley watches in amusement, before turning her attention to Lucas and Jake.

"So fellas, what do you say?"

…

Later that afternoon, Haley and Nathan stroll around the edge of the lake, scoping out a good spot for their predictions. Under the old canoes was a no-go, too many people knew about the alcohol stash, but there was bound to be another spot around here. This part of campus was really only used by the crew team.

So far, no luck.

"You sure you can't just hide this under your bed or something?" Nathan asks.

"In my triple with Brooke and Peyton?" Haley scoffs. "No freakin' way."

"You're right. My bad."

"And lord knows we can't trust this in your room with Tim," Haley jokes.

They keep walking, until finally Haley curves off the dirt path around the lake and into the woods.

"Haley, where are we going?"

"I don't know, I just have a feeling," she says, walking in a somewhat straight line until she found the most majestic tree she'd ever seen. So truly Southern with its moss and its girth and its branches overarching, long and curved, as if curtsying in welcome.

"This," Haley says, totally mesmerized, pulling herself up on the lowest branch. She climbs higher and higher and higher until finally, she takes a seat. With one leg on either side of a thick branch, Haley turns to look at Nathan down below. "This is perfect! I see the perfect little nook."

"You're totally crazy," Nathan observes, pulling himself from limb to limb until he comes to sit across from Haley on the branch, his legs dangling much further than hers.

"Or am I nuts?" Haley says lightly, suddenly self-conscious. Nathan stares at her, a small smile on his face. "Sorry, bad squirrel pun."

"Well, we are in a tree," Nathan points out, his eye contact catching her off-guard.

"We are," Haley says, quieting again, attempting to calm her nerves and kicking herself for the awful joke. They go quiet, observing each other and their surroundings, running through the motions of trying to act cool.

Haley blamed her nerves on the adrenaline, but the truth was undivided attention from Nathan Scott took her breath away. He had a way of quieting everything else in her head and anchoring her to the moment, just she and him. It was both addicting and terrifying to know someone had that power over you. Especially when she'd avoided any connection to anyone for so long.

Nathan's the first to break, finally looking away to pick at the bark between them.

"You know, the last time I was in a tree I broke my arm?"

"Oh Nathan, how?" Haley says, surprised.

"I was eleven. Lucas and I were just playing. Tarzan if you can believe it," he says with a non-committed chuckle. "We had a tire swing and were taking turns flinging ourselves off the tree and onto the rope of the tire. I missed."

"Sounds painful," Haley points out, her lips twist sympathetically.

"It was, here," he says, reaching out his arm. "Grab my wrist and push your thumb in on the outside."

Haley does, feeling the noticeable bump. "Why haven't I noticed this?"

"I can be very distracting."

"You certainly can," Haley concedes knowingly.

"Anyway, it just so happened to be right before middle school basketball tryouts. There was no way I would be fully healed by then."

"I'm sure that was hard," Haley observes, unable to keep her eyes off Nathan. His ability to be vulnerable was Nathan Scott's best-kept secret. One of many.

"Oh I made the try-outs. My dad made sure of it," Nathan says with a sigh. "That bump is from my bone not setting properly."

"Nathan…"

"I'm obviously doing just fine," he says, pulling a piece of bark and dropping it down below.

"Doesn't make that any less messed up though," Haley points out, bringing her hand to cover his. She stills his nervous picking, rubbing her palm against the back of his hand. "Nathan, why are you telling me this?"

"Just thinking about it. I haven't been this scared since I was last in a tree," Nathan reveals, taking a steadying breath before looking up to meet Haley's eyes.

"Oh my god, are you afraid of heights?" Haley squeals in regret.

"No," Nathan says, amused by her concern. "I'm… god, this is going to sound so corny… I'm afraid of falling."

And just like that it clicked for Haley. He was afraid of falling. HE was AFRAID of FALLING. HE WAS AFRAID OF FALLING!

"For me?"

Nathan nods, taking her hand and putting it against his heart. "Feel how fast my heart is racing."

"Oh, you're embarrassing me," Haley says sheepishly. Her cheeks rose over, a mixture of delight and disbelief.

"I love you," Nathan says, pushing her hand further into his chest. Haley feels the hum of his heart against her palm. "I wanted to say it a million times last year, but I wanted to be sure. I know we operate at different speeds."

"So you waited until I'm secluded in a tree?" Haley jokes.

"Pretty much," Nathan says, now becoming the sheepish one. "Nah, I waited the summer. Which was brutal. But now we're back and this feeling sure as hell did not go away."

Haley watches him, pulling her hand back and placing both palms on the branch. She slowly scoots herself forward until she and Nathan are knee to knee.

"I'm scared too, Nathan Scott," Haley says, leaning in to place a lingering kiss on his lips. She pulls back slightly.

"Yeah?"

"Very, very scared," Haley says, her mouth exploding into a Cheshire grin. She leans back in as Nathan cups her face, kissing her with newfound connection. "Now, how about we make some good memories in a tree?"

…

Haley snaps back to reality at the sound of Jake's voice.

"It's not here," he calls down. "The tin of predictions!"

Haley does her best to stay composed, her mind racing. "Maybe you're just missing it."

"Nope. I'm on the sixth branch up. I see the hole from where we nailed the tin in. It's gone," Jake says.

Just then, they hear footsteps as the rest of the group approaches and one of Haley's biggest questions was answered – the note had been found. A chill ran up her spine at the thought. The one she regretted. The one she scribbled out of fear and heartbreak. The one she was forced to do, for reasons much bigger than herself.

Haley turns to find Nathan gauging them apprehensively. Brooke's face contorts in anger as Lucas watches with unease.

"Oh Jake, you've really done it now," Peyton laughs. "When you said 'do some damage' you meant literally."

Jake speaks as he climbs down from the tree.

"No smartass, I thought it would be fun. We never went back and read them. Look," he says, hopping down off the last branch. He pulls a flask out of his pocket. "I thought we could do a little sip and share. Now that we're a team again."

"We're not," Brooke says, her voice cold. "And I'm so grateful you reminded me why."

"Am I missing something?" Jake says, looking at his friends.

"You all are," Brooke says, coming to stand next to Haley. She wraps an arm around her shoulder, a bit too tight, as if to hold her in place. "I grabbed the predictions before we moved out. I was still feeling nostalgic despite everything."

"Brooke…" Haley pleads.

"Turns out, Tutor Girl did leave us a love note."

"What?" Nathan strangles out.

"It was in the tin. And so much worse than I ever thought," Brooke says sympathetically. "Nate, you have to trust me."

"Brooke, she didn't leave us a note. She left me a note."

"I did what was best for you," Brooke says. "You know how bad you were back then."

"Shit," Nathan breathes, bringing his hands up to rest on the top of his head. The anger and confusion and frustration he'd been coaxing to a simmer all day had been put on a quick boil.

"Nathan," Haley starts.

"No," Nathan says harshly.

"Nate –," Brooke tries.

"Don't," Nathan says before turning to his brother. "Did you know?"

And for the first time, we see the color drained from Lucas' face, a mix of shock and disgust. "I didn't. I really, really didn't."

"Luke…" Brooke attempts.

"I need a minute," he says.

"I knew this would happen," Brooke cries. "As soon as I saw Haley, I knew this would come to a head."

"It should!" Nathan shouts. "It should have ten years ago!"

They all stop at the sound of Nathan's voice echoing in the forest. It was equal parts pathetic and pleading. Years of anguish coming out with each word. A silence falls amongst them.

Finally, Haley clears her throat. "Do you want to know what it said?"

"Yes," Nathan sighs.

Haley pauses, bracing herself for the damage she's about to cause. She eyes Nathan – her face full of unshed emotion – before finally speaking.

"It said your father paid me off. He offered me cash for an annulment, and I took the money," Haley whispers, her voice cracking. The air amongst them seizes. "And that one day, I hope you'll understand."

Nathan clenches his jaw, his eyes welling. He turns away, unable to look at her. Haley glances at her friends, their eyes never meeting. They all run through equal emotions of shock, betrayal, and confusion.

"You should go," Peyton says, taking a step forward towards Haley. She grabs for Brooke's hand, pulling her to her side.

Haley readjusts her stance in an attempt to muster up some courage. She crosses her arms across her chest, and inhales deeply.

"Please," Peyton asks again.

Haley looks at her, meeting a face full of concern, before looking behind her to Nathan. His back was turned, his shoulders low. Crushed. Haley ignores everyone else, walking to Nathan until she stood just behind him. The anger radiating off him was palpable.

"Nathan, that's only half the story," Haley says. He doesn't turn. He barely moves, just the slightest tick of his back as he tries to be still. Haley puts a hand on his shoulder blade, feeling him flinch beneath her. "Nathan?"

He turns to face her, his eyes red-rimmed, his nose rosy. A Nathan Scott she'd rarely seen and a Nathan Scott she couldn't bear to be responsible for.

"We're going to be late for the field games," he mumbles, stalking out of the woods.

A/N: And so the history starts to unfold... this is only the beginning!