I had started this story like three years ago, and posted it under a different account. Then I completely quit the fanfiction for a while. I stopped reading and writing and then I decided I wanted to get back into it and update this story. Unfortunately, I don't remember that account it was under at all...I got a new e-mail address so I couldn't get my password or anything to get back on it, so I decided to get a new account, and repost it. I've changed it a lot. I've tried to make it better than what it was. It's not like the old one. I'm hoping it's a lot better.

Basically, for a quick background -- Haley and Nathan never reconciled after she came home from the tour in season 2. She went on with her music career, and he went on with basketball, and now the two of them are about to meet for the first time in six years. (At Peyton and Jake's wedding.)

Enjoy, and please, please, please review! :)

-Lindsay

Haley James looked up from the ring glistening in the California sun long enough to see her older sister, Taylor, nearly run them off the road. "Tay!" she cried out. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Relax, Haley." She rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to get you to the airport on time."

"Okay," she blew out, trying to remain calm. She was so stressed right now. It wasn't even funny. She was returning to Tree Hill, North Carolina. A town she had left about six years ago without looking back. Making sure her sister was focused on her reckless driving, she discreetly removed the ring from her left finger and placed it in a velvet box that sat in her purse.

Taylor just happened to glance over. "Why aren't you wearing that?" she inquired.

"This is Peyton's week. The fact that she and Jake are getting married is big enough. She doesn't need my news to add to that. And plus, I'm going back there after six years of hardly seeing anyone. I don't want any extra attention on me," she explained.

Her sister gave her a funny look. Well, the reasoning sounded good in Haley's mind. "Whatever. When you won that Grammy, you got attention nonstop. Why do you want it over now?"

"I just do, okay?" she bit out, frustrated. She loved her sister, but sometimes, she was a little too nosy for her own good. She always thought she knew what was best for Haley and why Haley did this and why she did that. It was nice that she cared, but it was downright aggravating at times.

"Okay," she said, holding a hand in the air to surrender.

"Taylor!" Haley closed her eyes. "Both hands on the wheel!" She was seriously the worst driver Haley had ever been around. The only reason she had agreed to let her sister drive was because she didn't want to leave her car at the airport for the few days she would be gone.

"Haley, if you want to make your flight on time, shut up. Now, I'm sure Jared loves the fact that you're not wearing your ring."

"He doesn't even know," she said quietly. "All he knows is that I'm going back to Tree Hill for a wedding."

"Doesn't he want to go with you?" she questioned, turning a corner. "He surely would like to know where you grew up, got married, and got an annulment!"

Haley shut her eyes again. She tended to do that when she was nervous or ashamed. "He doesn't know about Nathan. He doesn't know I was ever married, Tay," she admitted after a silence.

"What?! How could you not tell him something that huge?!"

Haley thought of her fiancé. His name was Jared Grant and he was a year older than her. She had met him backstage at a concert. He had been interning with a record producer and just happened to catch her show. They had hit it off immediately and began dating a few weeks later.

That was a year and a half ago. And now here they were: engaged to be married. The proposal had shocked her, to say the least. She hadn't been expecting it at all. They were just sitting at Starbucks one day, and he had asked her if she wanted to sip coffee with him for the rest of their lives. Confused, she asked him what he meant, and he dropped down to one knee, pulling the ring out of his pocket. And the rest was history. She said yes, and that was that.

Looking back on it, she wished she had more time to think about it. Yes, she loved Jared, and wanted to marry him. But she was hiding things from him. Big things that threatened to tear the two of them apart once he found out. Things that had to deal with that little '23' tattoo that was still on her lower back.

He saw it sometimes and each time he saw it, he asked her what it meant. She always told him it was a tribute to Michael Jordan, but every time she said it, he knew she was lying. It was probably because she really couldn't stand to watch basketball - especially the LA Lakers. He rolled his eyes at her each time, and told her that one day, he would find out the truth behind the tattoo. She just prayed to God that he didn't.

--

Nathan Scott threw his duffel bag into the backseat of his Escalade and double checked to make sure he had everything before hopping into the driver's seat. He smiled at the petite blonde beside him who reached out and brushed his bangs away from his forehead. "You all set?" she asked sweetly.

He looked into the eyes of his girlfriend of seven months. Alyssa Townsend was so wonderful for him. She was caring and understanding, and knew his moods perfectly. She knew when he needed to talk and when he needed to be alone. She wasn't hard on the eyes either.

"I think so," he replied.

"Good. I'm sorry I've got this business thing, Nate. I really wanted to be there."

"I know you did." He started the truck and pulled out of his garage, waving at the security guard as they cruised out of his neighborhood. "I wish you were going. I don't know who I'm going to get to be my date now."

"Oh, you'll be just fine."

Nathan wished he could believe her. He was returning to a town he rarely went back to unless it was holiday or some funeral or wedding. He hated Tree Hill and liked to be as far away from it as possible. There was too much to deal with there. Too many memories and problems from the past. It killed him to walk by certain places and know what had gone on there back in high school.

The truth was, Tree Hill was the place where the great Nathan Scott had gotten his heart broken. He didn't like to look back on that. When he was in California, Nathan didn't need to worry about going by places that held memories of his former wife, Haley. He didn't need to worry about getting sympathetic looks from people because they knew he was deserted by her. He just didn't need to worry about anything except basketball, and that was the way he liked it.

He knew they both lived in California, that much he was certain of. She was a famous singer and he played for the Lakers. Of course they would both be stationed there. Luckily for him, they had never once seen each other. He could only imagine what would happen if they did. He would probably be a complete ass and she would be a bitch and that would be that.

That was a big reason he was nervous about going back to Tree Hill. Haley would be at the wedding. He was certain of that. She and Peyton had been really close in high school, and he knew that when Haley left, their friendship had suffered. Last he had heard though was that they had patched things up and Peyton flew out to California quite frequently to visit Haley along with the text messages and phone calls they exchanged daily. At least that was what Brooke had told him anyway.

"I know. Luke and Brooke will be there," he reminded her. "They'll keep me in line."

She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I hope you don't get out of line, Nathan Scott. If you do, I might have to fly down personally and whip your ass into shape."

"Hmm." He smirked. "Well, if it's a promise that you're going to fly out and see me, then you can bet I'll get out of line."

"Or I could just call up Brooke and tell her to whip you into shape," she suggested, earning an eye roll from her boyfriend. "I know you'd love that."

"Hell no. I'll behave myself." Nathan loved his brother's girlfriend. He really did. It was just sometimes she was a little…difficult. She was fiercely loyal and protective of the people closest to her, and unfortunately for Nathan, Haley had always been closer to Brooke than he had. In the situation that he and Haley might have it out, he knew Brooke would defend Haley and bite his head off.

They arrived at the airport just a few minutes later and Nathan kissed his girlfriend goodbye. Grabbing his carry on, he handed his boarding pass to the stewardess. She checked it and handed it back to him, a big smile on her face. "You're Nathan Scott? Star basketball player for the Lakers Nathan Scott?"

He gave her a charming smile. He loved it when people knew who he was. "That would be me."

"Oh!" She clapped her hands excitedly. "Is there anyway I could get an autograph? My son absolutely adores you!"

"Sure." She handed him a pen and a piece of paper that was at the desk beside her and Nathan quickly signed his name and a short message thanking him for the support.

He got on the plane and smiled when he saw a petite blonde that he would be sharing his seat with. He had a thing for those little blondes. He watched as she struggled to put her bag above her seat. He was about to offer help when he noticed her tiny black t-shirt ride up in the back. And that was when he saw it. The '23' tattoo.

"Holy shit," he muttered, eyes growing wide.

Haley turned around with a smile on her face. She expected to find a fan wanting an autograph or a picture, and she was always more than willing to oblige for those. If not for her fans, she wouldn't be in the great state that she was today. Instead of finding a fan though, she came face to face with a man she had left behind six years ago.

"Oh my God," she breathed out.

Nathan rolled his eyes then. Of course it was just his luck. Years of not running into each other and then they get stuck on the same flight. Not to mention the exact same seating area. Great. His day had just gone to hell.

"Nathan -"

"Here," he said gruffly, ignoring her attempt at a greeting or whatever the hell it was. He took the bag from her a bit too forcefully and shoved it into the bag compartment easily, smirking at her when he was finished. "You took too long."

"Oh, um, thanks." She offered him a tiny smile and slid into the seat. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against it. She could not believe this was happening. She knew he lived in California. Brooke had informed her of that, but she had never run into him. And now she was going to have to deal with everything all at once. She knew she was going to have to do that sometime, but not on her airplane ride to North Carolina.

"I'm assuming you're going to the wedding," she told him as he angrily got in his own seat.

"No, I'm going back because I love Tree Hill so much," he bit back sarcastically.

"Nathan." She shook her head. "I-I don't know what to say right now, so -"

"Then don't," he replied automatically. "Don't say or do anything. You don't talk to me and I don't talk to you. Deal?"

She closed her eyes again. Of course this was the way it was going to go and she couldn't blame Nathan for being like that. She had walked away from him a long time ago, and she didn't expect him to shower her with hugs and kisses. A little courtesy would have been nice though. It wasn't like she had left him because she didn't love him. It was because she had a dream and it was as big as his basketball dream was back then.

"Don't make this difficult, Nathan, please," she whispered. "It was my home once too."

"But you left it, didn't you?" he snarled. "You left it and you know what, Haley? Everything you'll probably hear from me later on? You deserve it. You deserve to know what a bitch everyone thinks you are. You deserve to hear that I hate you. You get that, Hales?" He called her that nickname as a way to hurt her, and by the look on her face, he could tell that it had. "I hate you."

After looking into his cold blue eyes for a minute, she turned around to the man behind her. "Excuse me sir? Would you mind trading me seats?" The man agreed with her and she stood up to move.

"That's the way to do it, Haley," Nathan scoffed. "Run away just like you always have."

"Go to hell," she whispered harshly.

When the plane took off, Nathan leaned his head back against the seat and sighed. Maybe he had been too harsh with her, but he couldn't help it. There was so much he had wanted to tell Haley ever since she had left him, and he had been holding it in so long that it just all came out as soon as he saw her.

He remembered the night she showed up on his doorstep after being gone for so long. He had been so incredibly surprised to see her. Part of him had just wanted to take her in his arms and never let her go. But the other part of him…the part that had been buried when he married her…it wanted to just tell her how much he hated her and that he never wanted to see her again.

"Hi," she greeted like it was the most common thing in the world. He noticed she was holding onto her duffel bag for dear life. It was then that he realized she might be coming home, and his heart sped up.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, his voice cold and hard.

"I'm done with the tour, Nathan," she announced in a soft voice. "I realized what I want…what I've always wanted has been here in Tree Hill all along. And that's you."

He scoffed at that. He couldn't believe that lie. He wouldn't believe it. If she had really wanted him as much as she said she did, she wouldn't have left him. She wouldn't have walked away and she wouldn't have lied about kissing that bastard Chris Keller. She wouldn't have even gotten involved with that little punk in the first place. But no, she had run away with him.

"I find that really hard to believe," he told her, closing the door behind him as he stepped into the night air. There was no way he was inviting her inside that house. She didn't deserve to be in his mother's house. In fact, she almost didn't deserve to be standing on that porch, but he wouldn't be that rude. "You walked away from us, Haley. You turned your back on me when you knew how much I loved you."

"You told me we were done!" she defended. "You told me if I wanted to go, we were done! And you know what, Nathan? I wanted to go! I wanted to see if I had a shot at my dream! Just like you and your basketball dreams! You're not the only one who has to think of a future here!"

"Well it looks like you picked it, huh? Your music over your husband. Nice choice," he mumbled.

"God." She turned around and sank down onto the porch steps. She waited until he sat beside her which he did after a few minutes of debating it. "Nathan." She turned to him. "I need you to know that I love you. I loved you when I married you and when I walked out. I loved you throughout that entire tour and I love you now. And you know what? I'll continue to love you until I die."

"Haley -"

She held up her hand. "Let me finish, please."

"Okay," he agreed quietly.

"I need to know if we can ever have a future together again, Nathan. Because if we can, I'll come home. I'll finish out high school here and we can try again. And if you don't think we can, I need you to tell me."

He thought about it for a minute. Here she was. Finally back in Tree Hill where he had wanted her to be for a long time now. She was offering him everything he had dreamed of since she had walked out that night, but the thing was, he didn't think he wanted it anymore. He had learned to be strong without her. As hard as it had been, he had done it. He had his brother in his life and some great friends. The truth was, Nathan didn't think he needed her as much as he used to.

"No," he said after a minute. "I don't think we can."

"Okay." She nodded like she knew that was what the answer was going to be. Standing up, she brushed off her jeans. "I'll get the annulment papers to you as soon as possible, alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, standing up as well. "Thank you."

"Um.." She shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot. "Well, I guess this is goodbye then."

"Guess so."

"Have a really great life, Nathan. You deserve it so much." She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and then she was gone.

Nathan watched her go, wondering if he had made a mistake. She had broken his heart, and he knew that. He wasn't about to deny it to anyone. He would always have a broken heart because of her. He wasn't sure he would ever get over it. The thing was, even with her standing there offering to give everything up so they could be together, he didn't trust her. He didn't trust that she wouldn't break his heart again. It had hurt so much the first time that he didn't think he would survive it a second.

He couldn't get back with Haley. He couldn't risk it again.

Haley woke up breathing heavily. She glanced at the man sitting beside her, embarrassed. Thankfully, he was fast asleep. She couldn't believe she had dreamed about that night. She hadn't thought of that in so long. It was one of the most painful nights of her life, and she tried to keep it pushed to the back of her mind. She thought she was doing a good job up until now.

She was about to close her eyes again when she heard the intercom click on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived in Tree Hill."

And there they both were. At the place they had come to fear the most.