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Brooke waited impatiently for Lucas to get to her room. She called him over twenty minutes ago to come over so they could discuss more about Nathan and Haley's break-up. She couldn't believe that he was just taking his good old time. This was a serious matter! What could possibly be more important that was taking so long?

Impatience getting the best of her, Brooke dialed Lucas' number again. "Where the hell are you?" She demanded as soon as he picked up.

"Hi to you too, Pretty Girl. I'm on my way over now."

"Lucas! You were supposed to be here a half hour ago! When I said, 'pronto' I meant it, pal. Just get here quick." She ranted and hung up on him.

"Took you long enough." Brooke greeted about five minutes later when Lucas finally showed up.

"Brooke, I was busy."

She held up her hands. "I don't want to hear it. We have more important things to do than make excuses!"

Lucas shook his head. His girlfriend was one of a kind, that was for sure. "Such as?" He was honestly confused as to what this whole 'meeting' was about. She hadn't given him any details during their phone call.

Brooke sighed dramatically. "Lucas, we have to plan how we are going to get Naley back together, duh!"

"I don't know about this, Brooke..." He trailed off. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Nathan and Haley get back together, because he did, but he was never one for meddling in other people's lives. However, this was definitely Brooke's territory and he knew she wasn't going to just let him off the hook that easily.

She scoffed. "Oh please Lucas, they are meant to be together. They just need a little push in the right direction right now." She justified the idea of plotting against her friends. "So, let's start with what we know."

"Which is what exactly? We don't know anything except that they broke up." Lucas pointed out.

"Okay, well then change of plans. I'm going to go find Nathan." Brooke announced before taking off in another instant, leaving Lucas behind.

Brooke was in the middle of looking for Nathan when her cell phone began to ring and she noticed that it was Haley calling. "Hales, are you okay?" She asked as soon as she picked up, not even bothering to say hi.

Haley sniffled into the phone. "I think...that...I'm ready to wallow now, Brookie."

"I'm coming right over!" Brooke promised into the phone and took off in the opposite direction.

Once Brooke arrived at Haley's room she found her best friend already in bed with the movies she had left there. "Titanic, huh?" She spoke while glancing at the television.

"I just don't understand why she lets go! She promised him that she would never let go." Haley sobbed.

Brooke rubbed Haley's back as she asked her next question. "Hales, are you crying over Titanic or are you crying over Nathan?"

"Both." Haley answered while shoving a big spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. Brooke was right, this was making her feel a little bit better. "I tried to talk to him." She admitted quietly. At first she wasn't sure that she was going to say anything about her earlier encounter with Nathan, but if she was going to talk to anyone about it than that person was definitely going to be Brooke.

"Really, when?"

"Right before this. Brooke, he hates me." She sobbed some more.

"That's not true and you know it," Brooke dismissed Haley's statement as soon as the words left her mouth. "I've never seen Nathan care about anyone before the way he does for you."

"He won't even talk to me! What am I supposed to do?" Haley asked. Brooke always had the best advice to give. Plus, it helped that she has known Nathan for a long time.

"First, you need to calm down." Brooke instructed while passing Haley a tissue to wipe away her tears. "I need you to tell me everything that happened. Think you're ready to talk about it?" She knew there was only so much that she could do without knowing any information. In order to help her friend, she needed details.

Haley shrugged her shoulders. "I guess." She mumbled. It wasn't something that she really wanted to do, but she knew it was better than keeping it all in. "Well it all started because Damien has been calling me constantly-"

"What?" Brooke interrupted. "Are you serious? Why didn't I know about this?" After becoming friends with Haley she had heard all about her ex-boyfriend. He sounded like such a loser if you asked her. She couldn't believe that Haley kept that from her. Honestly, she was a little hurt, but this wasn't about her right now.

"I thought I could handle it and that it would just go away, but he wouldn't stop calling or texting and leaving me messages. I answered a few times and he always insisted that he talk to me or meet me. I finally agreed to meet up with him in exchange for him to leave me alone." Haley revealed. She felt guilty that she had hidden this from her best friend this whole time.

Brooke looked shocked."You made a deal with Devil, huh?"

Haley nodded as she sniffled.

"Did Nathan know about this? About Damien calling you, I mean."

Haley shook her head. "No, I never told him. I didn't want him to get upset over nothing because to me it was nothing."

"Let me guess, this break up has something to do with this?" Brooke guessed. Just from hearing that little bit of information and knowing Nathan the way she did, she knew that once he found out it wouldn't be pretty.

Haley nodded. "Nathan showed up at the coffee shop where I was meeting Damien. I...we...nothing happened. We we're just talking. As soon as Nathan saw us though he took off. I looked for him everywhere. He was in my room waiting for me when I finally got back. He looked so hurt, Brooke. He didn't want to hear anything I had to say. That's when he said it. That's when he said that we were done."

Brooke didn't know what to say. There weren't many times when she was at a loss for words. She knew Nathan for a long time and she knew he was very guarded. She assumed his actions were only because he was feeling hurt.

"What did Damien want?" Brooke finally asked.

"To tell me that he transferred to UNC. He kept telling me that he missed me and that he was sorry about cheating. He was trying to convince me to get back together with him! Can you believe that?"

"Seriously? He's a scumbag. How could he even think that was a possibility? Who cares, all we have to do now is get Nathan to listen to you."

If only it was going to be that simple, Haley thought to herself. "I shouldn't have hid it from him. That was such a bad idea."

"What's done is done. All you can do is move forward from here." Brooke said positively, trying to keep her friend hopeful. She had faith they would be back together in no time.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Nathan Scott."

"The one and only." He retorted.

She looked around and surveyed the gymnasium. It was completely empty besides him and the disarray of basketballs everywhere. "A little lonely in here, don't you think?" She questioned as she made her way further in the gym.

"Not anymore."

"Rumor has it you kinda suck at this now." She gestured to the hoop and then to the basketballs on the ground. "I heard you didn't make a single shot at practice this afternoon."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "People need to mind their own business and shut up." He growled. One lousy practice did not mean he sucked. He had much more talent than most of the guys on his team. There were only a couple others that were maybe just as good as he was. They could all kiss his ass for all he cared right now.

"That's the thing though, Nathan, people love to talk. Want to know what else they're talking about? They're saying that you are now back on the market. You're single? Is that true?" She interrogated him as she got closer to him.

"So what if it is?" He looked over finally making eye-contact with Rachel for the first time since she entered the gym.

She grinned. "Well then, I'd say I think it might be about time that you and I have a little 'talk' of our own."

Nathan got dressed after his shower and checked his phone. He sighed when he noticed there was a missed call and text from Haley. Please call me back. We need to talk. I love you. He knew they needed to talk and the sooner they did was probably better.

With that idea he headed down the hall to her room. Maybe she wouldn't be there and they didn't have to talk, but that way he could at least say he gave it a try, kind of... However, once he knocked on the door and came face to face with Haley he knew there was no such luck. There was no going back now. It was time to face the music.

"Nathan, hi." Haley greeted unable to mask her surprise. Yes, she had asked him to talk, but she hadn't actually thought that he was going to show up at her door and especially so soon.

"Hey." He mumbled back as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "So, um, can I come in?" He asked and nodded to the inside of her room with his head. Great, this was awkward already and they hadn't even begun to talk about the issue yet. Taking in her appearance he noticed that she looked how he felt, not so good.

"Oh yeah, of course." Haley pushed the door open wider to allow him entrance. "How are you?" She asked as she took a seat on her bed.

Nathan stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. "Look, Haley, I don't really feel like doing small talk." He said honestly. He wasn't trying to be mean, but he just wanted to get this over with.

"Right."

"I feel like I should apologize for shrugging you away yesterday. I never gave you a chance to say what you wanted to, so now's your chance."

Haley sighed not even knowing where to begin. "I don't know what you think you saw or what you think is or was going on, but Nathan, I promise you there is nothing there. He wanted to try to get back together with me-"

"That's real great." Nathan grumbled.

"But, I don't want that!" Haley spoke quickly as she saw Nathan getting more upset. "That's exactly what I told him too."

"How many times have you guys met with each other?" He questioned, frustrated with the whole situation.

"That was the only time, I swear."

"Why?" He didn't understand. There was no reason that he could think of that would make her meet up with an ex-boyfriend that cheated on her if they weren't mending things and getting back together.

Haley looked away from Nathan. "He kept calling and insisting that we talk. He said that if I did that he would stop. I just thought that I would go for a few minutes and then that would be it and that his calls would end." She revealed. She bit her bottom lip as she nervously awaited Nathan's reaction.

"Are you kidding me, Haley? The guy has been harassing you and you didn't even think that maybe you should tell me about it?" He couldn't believe this. He could kill this guy.

"I didn't want to upset you over nothing, especially during playoffs. I realize now that that wasn't the best idea. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for all of it. I shouldn't have kept any of it a secret from you." She spoke as she got up and walked over to him until she was a few steps away. "But, Nathan, please you have to believe me that nothing is going on and I do not want anything to do with him. I love you."

Nathan pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "Can you explain this then?"

"What is this?" She asked as she opened it. "Who gave you this?"

It was a small note that told Nathan that she was secretly hooking up with Damien behind Nathan's back. Then it went on to say that he could go to the coffee shop where she was meeting Damien so that Nathan could go see for himself that they would be together.

"I don't know. Someone left it downstairs at the desk for me."

Haley continued to stare at the note. This was complete bullshit. She had not been secretly meeting Damien "for a while now" like the note said. This one incident was the only time she had seen him since her little visit when she caught him cheating on her. Who ever wrote this was lying. Why would anyone do something like this? She had a really bad feeling about this.

"Nathan, I...I don't know what to say about this." She said handing the note back to him. "That's not true." She continued to deny.

"Haley, I believe you...I really do, but this note was right when it said you were meeting him at the coffee shop..."

Suddenly it hit her. The only people who knew about that meeting was her and Damien, himself. Therefore, she concluded that it had to be him who was behind this. She wouldn't put it past him. Ever since she caught him cheating on her she saw a whole different side to him than the boy that she knew back home.

"He's the only person that could have done this. No one knew about me meeting him besides the two of us as far as I know." Haley mumbled her revelation out loud. "Damien did this, Nathan. It had to be him." She reached over and grabbed the note from Nathan to look at it one more time. "Wait a minute," Haley looked up at Nathan as she thought of something else. "you went to the coffee shop...you really thought I was cheating on you?"

Nathan shook his head. "No! I wanted to see if I could find the person that left me the note." He explained.

Haley began to feel a little hurt. She believed what Nathan was telling her, but she couldn't help feeling like somewhere within Nathan he really did go to see if she would be there.

"Why didn't you confront me with this?" She questioned, turning the tables on him now.

Nathan scoffed. "Why didn't you let me know about any of this Damien crap?" He challenged right back.

He was right. She should have been more honest with him about what was going on. But she was right too. Nathan should have showed her this note. If they had both done things differently they wouldn't be in this situation right now. And technically, they were still broken up.

"You wouldn't even hear me out when you saw me! Imagine how you would have reacted when I told you what was going on. I didn't want you to get worked up over nothing, Nathan. Playoffs have been stressful and I didn't want to add to it. Because that's exactly what it is to me, nothing!" She tried to explain herself. "Nathan, I always hear you out and you wouldn't even let me get a single word in edge wise."

He did feel slightly bad about that. Haley had been amazing with his problems, like his dad and the drugs. Nathan sighed. "I was hurt, Haley. I have never let anyone in as much as I have with you. I've never even been in love before you. I know I don't deserve you and that you are a much better person than I am. Why you stuck with me this long, I'll never understand. It just killed me to think that you would go back to that jerk and especially behind my back." He finally admitted some of his fears.

Haley softened at hearing his words. "Is that what you really think? That you don't deserve me?"

He nodded.

"Nathan, that is far from true. You're an amazing guy and you have a good heart. Yes, you have a temper and you can be stubborn, but so can I. We are good with each other." She reached out to grab his hand and placed it over her heart. "You're the only person who makes me feel like this. I love you for who you are, Nathan. You are good enough. You're it for me."

Not being able to help himself, he pulled Haley closer to him and captured her lips with his own. Haley allowed herself to get lost in Nathan for a few minutes before pulling away.

"We still have a lot to talk about. I mean, are we broken up?" It killed her inside to ask that little question.

Nathan cupped Haley's cheek with one of his hands. "I didn't mean that, Hales. I just felt hurt and frustrated and it just came out. I couldn't sleep last night knowing I said that, but my pride wouldn't let me come back over her to make things right yet. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

"Only if you can forgive me too?" They were both to blame for this situation. Neither of them handled it correctly.

He placed another kiss on her lips. "Does that answer your question?" He asked as he rested his forehead against hers.

She nodded against him and shut her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Stop it."

Haley pulled away and looked up at him. "I don't want to have secrets from you, Nathan."

"Neither do I." He agreed.

He felt like an idiot, but he had never cared for someone so much the way he did with Haley. That was why when he did see her at the coffee shop with Damien like the note had predicted, he let his emotions get the best of him. He knew it was wrong. It only made him feel worse now knowing that he had been set up by that asshole.

Nathan groaned as he noticed that is was getting late out. It had been a very long day. "I have an early morning practice tomorrow. I better get going." He knew that he needed his sleep so that he could be on top of his game tomorrow. The whole Haley thing had been stuck in his mind and he hadn't been able to concentrate all during practice that afternoon. He missed every shot he took and that never happens. A couple of the guys even busted on him that he lost his touch and he better get it back before their next playoff game on Tuesday.

Haley closed the small distance between her and Nathan and wrapped her arms tightly around his body, hugging him to her. "I don't want you to go." She said into his chest. "Stay here."

"I have to be at practice at five am, Hales. I don't want to wake you up that early."

She shook her head. "I don't care," she mumbled. After everything that had occurred in the last day and a half, all she wanted was to fall asleep in Nathan's arms.

As he considered her request, he knew that he always did sleep better with Haley next to him anyway. Besides, if he went back to his room he probably wouldn't get right to sleep with Lucas there. His brother would be up his ass with all kinds of questions and accusations. That was not something that he wanted to deal with right now. He was exhausted enough as it was.

Without saying a word, he kicked off his shoes and began to get undressed before hopping into Haley's bed. "Are you coming or what?" He smirked as he propped himself up on one elbow to look at her.

Haley laughed as she went over to shut the light off before racing over to get wrapped up in is muscular arms.