Always and forever and in between

Chapter 7

For ages she had known Lucas, crushes, bullying, secrets; they have been through it all, never at any point has she thought of keeping anything from him. Luke was her confidant through and through, so you could imagine how betrayed her best friend felt when he found her hat in the car Nathan was driving.

True, there was nothing between her and Nathan, other than tutoring sessions, but the rivalry between both boys had gone on for a while now, that Lucas felt furious, confronting Haley immediately the night before. He left shortly after and Haley was relieved because she wasn't sure how she could explain what was happening, and the fact that she was actually seeing things from the other one's perspective and that it all made sense to her.

So that day, when she walked into Karen's café and noticed Lucas sitting at a stool by the counter; his back to her, Haley decided quickly on leaving, she rushed out the door and had already walked a few steps when she heard him call her name, and Haley turned around, facing Lucas.

"How long are we gonna do this?"

"Do what?"

"Avoid each other" said Lucas.

"You tell me. You are the one upset" she said, her voice cracking slightly.

"And you are the one who lied to me"

"I don't know what to say to you Luke"

Lucas moved closer, his voice filled with accusation "just explain to me, why you were with Nathan. I mean considering these past few weeks and what he has done"

"I can't" replied Haley.

"You know, how I feel about him, Haley" he said, walking away from her.

"Lucas. Fine" she shouted after him. Lucas turned to face her, mouth curled in malice, Haley's voice raised a little, tears already springing into her eyes "yes, I know how you feel about him, but there is something you don't know."

He gestured for her to go on "I promised I would tutor him if he left you alone" suddenly Lucas' whole demeanor changed, he whispered a small "What?"

Haley's tone became firmer "I am doing it for you, Luke"

It was her turn to walk away from him; she left Lucas behind; standing utterly ashamed. Though as Haley rounded the corner, it was her turn to feel shameful, because she had to add lying to the list of why she felt unworthy of her friendship with Lucas lately, right after secrecy.

She knew in the depth of her very being that what she had with Nathan wasn't just a method to help Lucas, nor was it guilt over a student who needed help; perhaps it had started out that way. She was smart enough to know that her heart racing at Nathan's smile indicated something more. It wasn't a crush, she had those before, but this was more intense, how her heart ached whenever Nathan showed any sign of distress, how she couldn't stop wearing the tacky bracelet he gave her or how she felt joy and pride radiating through her very being whenever Nathan took a step closer to being a better student and human being.

The worst part about this wasn't the fact that Nathan would never feel the same way; though it did majorly contribute to her anguish, but it was actually the fact that Peyton seemed into Lucas and vice versa, Nathan was apparently still into Peyton, from what she could tell and the thought of him in any kind of pain was agonizing. Haley would feel content in knowing that Nathan was happy and alright, even if not with her. The intensity of her feelings terrified Haley to her very core that she had to sit down on the sidewalk a little, drawing in a shaky breath.

"This can't be happening" she whispered, closing her eyes and pulling her knees closer to her chest.

Next day had arrived soon enough, and Haley found herself already getting dressed for her shift at Karen's. She had been avoiding Lucas all day long, as she brought customers their orders, Lucas was watching her since she got there over his shoulders, hesitant to speak first, he felt he had wronged her greatly and wasn't sure how to apologize.