Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or its characters

Thanks a ton for the reviews on the last chapter. Sorry I couldn't update sooner, I know I kinda sound like a broken record with that stuff, but really I am sorry about the lack of updates on some stuff. I'm trying my hardest to get it all updated, really. Hopefully I'll get good reviews for this chapter!

Chapter 26: It's Not Over

Nathan and Haley laid in his bed and he had his arm wrapped around her shoulder. The fingers of his other hand idly touched and played with the fingers on Haley's right hand. They had been laying in bed for a little over an hour. Haley had woken up only a little while ago and they listened to music from his iPod while they relaxed together. Haley couldn't think of any other way she wanted to spend her day than in the arms of her boyfriend. "Tell me about one your best childhood memories," Nathan said and looked down at her. She tilted her head and looked up at him. "My best childhood memory?" she said and he nodded.

She bit her lip and thought about and then said, "It was around when I was 11 or 12 and I was at a concert with my mom. My mom was like, John Denver's biggest fan ever I'm pretty sure," she said and chuckled. "It was few years after he died and my mom got tickets to a like Benefit or Tribute concert thing for John Denver and the guy who preformed there, I swear he sounds a lot like him. And my mom took me to go with her. It was great. It was at Red Rocks and there were so many people there. My mom she knew all the words to all the songs and she sang along to them. She held me in her arms while she sang. I remember that when they sang… Sunshine on my Shoulders, she cried. Every time I hear that song, I always think about her. It makes me cry still, but I love that song. I remember that, that night was when I really fell in love with music. There was something so… magical about being there that night. I remember looking at the lights of the city and looking at the rocks and the people around me and thinking that I wished every night could have been like that. With my mom."

Nathan smiled and kissed the top of her head, "it sounds great."

"It was," Haley could feel the tears forming in her eyes and she said, "I really wish you could have met my mom. I know she would have just loved you. I mean don't get me wrong, I love Denise and Connor, but I really wish my mom was still around. I miss her so much sometimes."

"I wish I could have met her too. She sounds great."

"She was."

"Do you know that I have a favorite John Denver song?" Nathan said. Haley shifted her body so she was now laying on her stomach and she looked up at him. "You do?" she asked, "well what is it?"

"Annie's Song."

"That was my mom and dad's first dance song at their wedding."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I love that song," she wiped away a stray tear that fell and she smiled, "my dad used to sing that to my mom. He sang it too her a lot when she was sick." Nathan looked at her and he could see that she was trying not to cry. He tightened his grip on her and she moved up so she was closer to him. He cupped her cheek in his palm and thumb wiped away a tear that had fallen from her eye. "Don't be sad," he whispered, "I hate seeing you sad."

"Good thing you were unconscious while you were in the hospital then," she said and let out a small chuckle. Nathan smiled and leaned forward and pecked her lips. "What's one of your best childhood memories?" Haley asked Nathan.

"Camping with my aunt and uncle with Lucas when I was 7. My dad had this business trip and he and my mom were going to South Carolina for the weekend so Keith and Karen took us camping. It was a great weekend. You should have seen what Lucas did to his finger though," Nathan said and laughed. Haley looked up at him waiting for him to continue and tell her what happened. "He hooked a fish hook through his thumb," Nathan said and Haley cringed just thinking about it. "But Keith took care of it. He even cut his own thumb with a pocket knife after he got the hook out and he rubbed his thumb with Lucas's and said they were blood brothers." Haley smiled and looked down at Nathan's hand and saw that he, too, had a scar on his thumb.

"What's that from?"

Nathan laughed, "at the time I was so jealous that they were blood brothers that I made Keith cut my thumb too so I could be one with them. My cut's not that big, but it still counts." Haley smiled and laughed. She liked hearing about memories that he had with his family. She could tell that Nathan really meant it when he said that it was one of his best memories. "You know," Nathan said, "Keith is more of a dad to me than my own dad. Sometimes I wish that he really was my dad."

"Keith really loves you and Lucas, I can tell."

Nathan smiled and nodded and he could tell that Haley was still sad. He wished he could do or say something that would make that hurt go away but he knew he couldn't. "I would gladly erase my dad if it could bring back your mom," Nathan said. Haley looked up at him and shook her head. "You mean that now," she said, "but trust me you don't mean it."

"I do."

"No Nathan. I know you don't get along with your dad, but you don't really mean it."

"I do. I wish that I could bring your mom back and if I had to erase my dad to do it, I would."

She kissed him and then rested her head against his chest again. She was careful not to touch his stitches or his on coming bruises. "Thank you Nathan," she said, "I love you."

"I love you too Haley. So much."

Peyton sat on a bench under a tree with her iPod in and her music blaring. She looked down at her sketch pad and continued to draw. The picture was of Nathan and Haley facing each other and looking into each others eyes and smiling. Above their heads was written 'Always and Forever,' in calligraphy. She worked on the shading in the picture until she felt someone tap her shoulder. She paused her iPod and looked up at the person standing in front of her. "Hey Blondie."

Peyton smiled when she saw Jake standing in front of her. He wore jeans and t-shirt with Converse on his feet. He looked just as good as he always did. "Hey Jake," she said and smiled up at him. She pulled her head phones out of her ears and set her sketch down. Jake sat down on the other side of her and she turned to face him. "What's up?" she asked, "how've you been?"

"I actually need to talk to you about something important."

Peyton nodded and waited for him to continue speaking. There were a million thoughts running around in her head. Part of her was scared that maybe he was going to tell her that he wanted to stop trying with her or something along those lines. Another part of her wanted to believe that this was the time that he was going to tell her he wanted them to be together again. She could feel her heart racing as she looked at him and she really wanted him to just say whatever he had to say. "You know I told you that it was gonna take time for me to know that I can trust you enough for us to be us again. And I told you that I loved you and I meant it."

"I love you too Jake."

"I know you do. Honestly Peyton I was hurt by what happened and I thought that when I found about this that it was really over between us. I took the time to think about if I can trust you again and I know that I can." Peyton looked up at him and her eyes met his when he said that and she smiled. "I love you Peyton Sawyer. I took all the time I need to know that I love you and I need you in my life. It sucked not being with you and I know that I want to be with you for as long as possible. Forever."

Peyton smiled and grabbed the back of Jake's head and brought him close to her. She pressed her lips against and wrapped her arm around his neck. They pulled away from each other and rested their foreheads against each other. "I love you so much," Peyton said, "I'm so sorry about what happened." Jake shook his head and kissed her again and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I forgave you for that. I love you too."

Jake smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she rested back against him. He was glad that he could finally be with her again. He was giving her his heart again and he knew that she was the right one to leave it with. Peyton felt the same way. She couldn't think of a better person for her that she trusted more. She was so happy that he had forgiven her. She knew that she was going to have a permanent smile on her face from now on. She knew it was all because of him.

Lucas grabbed his cup of coffee off the counter from the Starbucks he was standing in and turned around and saw Colin sitting at a table by the window. "Hey man," Lucas said walking over to him. Colin looked up at him and smiled. "Hey Lucas," he said, "how are you?"

"I'm good. I was just heading back to campus to see Brooke, you heading that way soon?"

"Yeah actually I was just about to leave and go say good bye to Haley. My flights in a couple of hours."

"Wanna walk back with me?" Lucas asked. Colin nodded and stood up and the two of them walked out the door. "So how's Nathan?" Colin asked and took a drink of his coffee. Lucas nodded and said, "he's good. He and Haley have been like attached at the hip since he's gotten out of the hospital. Which I guess would be better than being around my dad."

"Yeah, he seems a little intense."

"He is. He and Nathan even got in a fight yesterday. Nathan punched him in the face for saying something mean to Haley. My parents left yesterday I guess. Nathan and my dad have like, never gotten along."

"What about you and him?"

"My dad?"

"Yeah."

"I try to avoid confrontation with him at all times. He doesn't really know much about my life and what I have going on. He knows that I play basketball just as a pass time really and that I want to be a writer. But with Nathan, he knows that Nathan wants to play pro and that he has all the ability in the world, so he pressures him a lot. It was bad for Nathan in high school having to deal with Dan."

"What do you mean?""Well my dad just would pick him apart. He would tell him every single thing that he did wrong and that there was no way he was gonna make it pro if he didn't work on his game. So Nathan did. Basketball was pretty much the most important thing in his life until he met Haley. I really think that she's like the best thing that's happened to him."

"She's a great girl huh?"

"She really is. You used to date her didn't you?"

"Yeah back in high school. We always had like a thing when we were younger but I was always too afraid to ask her out for some reason. But after we dated I knew that I had to have her in my life so, we stayed friends. She's the best friend I've ever had."

"Do you still love her?" Lucas asked looking at Colin.

"Of course I do, she's my best friend."

"But are you still in love with her? And you know what I mean."

"I do love her and I will always care about her, but I'm not in love with her. She's my best friend Lucas."

"Ok," he said and smiled, "you know I just gotta look out for my brother's girl."

"Well you have nothing to worry about with me and Haley. But me and Brooke though, might want to watch out," Colin joked and looked at Lucas. Lucas shook his head but smiled and the two of them kept walking towards the campus. "I gotta go meet Brooke," Lucas said, "I'll see ya later man. It was good to see you again."

"Yeah you too. You guys need to come back to Colorado again sometime when I'm in town."

"Yeah for sure, we will."

They finished saying their good byes and Lucas headed in the direction of Brooke's dorm. Colin knew that Haley was going to be at Nathan's dorm so he headed in that direction to say good bye to Haley. He stood in front Nathan's door and knocked. A minute later the door opened and Haley stood in front of him. She smiled and instantly hugged him tightly. "Hey!"

Nathan looked up from his spot on the bed to see who was at the door. He saw Colin standing at the door and smiled. He knew that Haley was happy that he was in town and he decided to let them talk. He turned his attention back to the TV while Haley and Colin talked outside his room. "How are you?" Colin asked when Haley stepped out into the hallway.

"Good, we're both doing good. I've just been hanging out with him since we got back. He's been resting. The doctor said it would be good for him to rest ya know?"

"Yeah, but I asked how you were."

Haley let out a chuckle and looked down at the ground quickly before looking up at Colin. "I'm ok," she said honestly. "I'm just still so angry and I feel so guilty. I still feel like this is all my fault. No matter how many people tell me it's not, I still feel that it is. And I'm angry because I don't know where Kyle is and I'm so mad at him for what he did. I wish he was in jail ya know? I wish that he was put away so that I knew that Nathan and I were safe. That's all I want for us. Just to know that we're safe and we can get back to being us again."

"You guys are gonna get there. I can tell already that you're more than half way there. And they're gonna find Kyle. I know they will. They'll put him away and things will be good again. I get why you're mad and I think you have all the right to be mad. You should be pissed off because of what happened. No one would expect you to be any thing other than that. But you need to listen to me and understand me when I say, this is not your fault. I know that right now you're not believing me. But it's true. You didn't make Kyle shoot Nathan-"

"But I-"

"No. Don't. I know what you're gonna say and I don't want you to say it. Haley you didn't know that Kyle was that sick to try something like that. And you can't blame yourself for what happened. You just can't. It was not your fault."

He could still tell she was feeling mixed about what happened. But he knew that in time she would be able to move on from this. He knew Haley and he knew she was strong. She could make it through this. She and Nathan were going to be stronger than ever before because of this. He could tell. "Well look," Colin said, "I actually came by to tell you that I'm leaving. My flight's in a couple of hours and I gotta get back. I have camp starting soon. So I just wanted to come by and say good bye."

Haley nodded and took another step towards him and hugged him again. She was sad that he was going to leave again and she felt like she didn't really spend much time with him while he was here this time. If things that had been going on with her and Nathan were different she would have. "I'm glad you came," she said and Colin tightened his arms around her waist. "I really needed my best friend here and I'm glad you came back."

"Of course Hales. You know I'm always here for you. Give me a call if you need me out here again and I'm on my way." Haley smiled and hugged him again before letting go. "I'll call you when I get in," he told her. She nodded and he turned to walk down the hall. She smiled when he turned around and sent a wink in her direction before walking down the stairs. She went back into Nathan's room and saw him watching TV.

"What did Colin say?"

"He was just coming to tell me that he was leaving. His flights in a few hours."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I'm just glad that he came out. I really needed him here."

"Then I'm glad that he came out here too.'

She sat next to him on the bed and turned to watch whatever he had on TV. The two of them sat there in a comfortable silence for hours just comfortable being around each other. Haley turned her head and looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:30. "Do you want me to go get you something to eat?" she asked and sat up. Nathan shook his head and slowly sat up with her.

"No, let's go out and eat."

"Nathan I don't think that's a good idea. You're supposed to be resting, I can go out and get you something."

"Hales, I'll I've been doing is resting. Come on it'll be fine. I promise."

"Ugh, fine!" she said and smiled. She stood up and picked up her shoes and slipped them back on her feet. Nathan got off the bed slowly and grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it on over his wife beater. His slipped a pair of Nikes on his feet and walked over to Haley. "Are you sure you wanna go out?" she asked again making sure that he really did want to leave. Nathan nodded and opened the door for her and she walked out the door.

They walked to where her car was parked in the parking garage and got in. They were going to a diner called The Diner. They got in the car and drove to the diner in a comfortable silence. Haley watched out the corner of her eye while Nathan flipped through the radio stations. She smiled and shook her head when he landed on a station playing an Eminem song. She wasn't surprised. She pulled up in front of the diner and the two of them got out of the car and walked inside the diner.

They slipped into the red booths and looked at the menus. Haley quickly decided what she wanted and set the menu down. Their waitress walked over and smiled at the two of them. "What can I get you two?" she asked nicely.

"I'll have the mac n' cheese and a root beer," Haley said and handed her menu to the waitress. Nathan smiled at Haley and then looked at their waitress. "I'll have a turkey burger with a coke please." She took Nathan's menu once she finished writing down his order. "I'll be right back with your drinks," she said. Haley watched her walk away before turning back to her boyfriend.

He looked at her and smiled and she smiled back. "What's got you so happy?" Haley asked. Nathan shook his head and shrugged, "just being here with you."

She couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face again. "You are such a charmer," she said. Their waitress came by and put their drinks on the table and Haley took a sip of her root beer. "I can't believe you ordered mac n' cheese Hales."

"Shut up, I love mac n' cheese."

"I know you do," he said and laughed.

Soon their food was brought out and they began to eat. Nathan looked up at Haley and said, "I heard you and Colin talking," he said, "about you feeling guilty about what happened." Haley looked up at Nathan and shook her head and began to speak. "Nathan, I-"

"I don't want you to feel like that. I don't want you to ever feel like that. I know you feel bad about what happened but you have to know that no one blames you for anything what happened."

"Your dad sure does."

"My dad's a jack ass. Haley it's pretty much what he does. He likes to say things that are hurtful to people. He knows it's not your fault but he always feels the need to find someone to blame. And I'm so sorry that it was you. But it wasn't your fault."

"I love you," Haley said and grabbed Nathan's hand across the table. Nathan smiled and picked up their hands and brought hers to his mouth and kissed the back of her hand before setting it back on the table. "I love you too, Haley James."

They finished eating and paid the bill before walking back out to the car. Nathan opened Haley's door before going around to the passenger's side and getting in. She pulled out of the parking lot and made the drive back towards the dorms. She looked in the rear view mirror and saw a car following close behind her. "What the hell is up with this guy?" she asked looking back in the mirror, "why is he riding my ass like this?" She sped up a bit making sure to leave enough space between her and the car in front of her but giving room the car behind her.

The car behind her sped up again and was right behind her. Nathan twisted in his seat to look behind him at the car following closely. "I don't know," he said but he kept watching the car. He turned around and the car behind them turned on their bright head lights and Haley looked at in the mirror again. "What is his problem?" The car behind them honked their horn and sped up again. She could feel the front fender of their car tapping against the back fender of her car.

"What the hell is he doing?!" she yelled again beginning to feel a panic in her.

Haley turned towards the dorms and there weren't as many cars on the road except the one following her. The car behind her sped up again and hit the back of her car. Nathan turned again to watch the car. He heard the horn of the car blaring as the car pulled up next to them. They both looked out the window and saw that Kyle was the one driving the car. "Why is he doing this?!" Haley cried.

Haley saw the parking garage come into view and sped up to get there. She used her pass to get in and the gate shut behind her leaving Kyle's car just outside the gate. They could hear him lay on the horn and then heard the screeching of the tires as he drove off. Haley pulled into a parking spot and turned to look back towards the gate. She was now crying now and Nathan hurriedly got out of the car and walked towards the gate. Haley got out too and slammed the door.

"Nathan, don't look for him!" she yelled nervously.

Nathan turned and looked back at Haley who was leaning against the side of the car and he walked back over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her head into his chest. He could feel her body shake while she cried. "Why is he doing this?" she cried. Nathan shook his head. He didn't know why Kyle wasn't leaving them alone. But he did know that whatever game he was playing was far from over.

Please review! I really want to know what y'all think about this chapter!