Hayley sat at home with Leighanne, Baylee, and Kristin as they watched the guys on TV. AJ was on Oprah, talking about his rehab and the guys were surprising him. Hayley and Nick have been best friends for as long as they can remember. She is beginning to feel more than friendship for Nick. After the guys’ part of the show was over, Hayley went into the kitchen. Kristin and Leighanne came into the kitchen.

      “Hayley, are you okay?” Leighanne asked.

      “I think I’m falling for my best friend,” Hayley said. Leighanne smiled.

      “You should talk to him when they come home,” Leighanne said.

      “What if he doesn’t feel the same way,” Hayley said. Kristin and Leighanne looked at each other.

      “Brian said that Nick confided in him two weeks ago, Nick has the hots for you, he is scared to share his feelings because he was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same way and he didn’t want to deal with rejection,” Leighanne said. Hayley sat down and thought about everything. The next day, Hayley was lounging by the pool in her skimpy bikini when Nick came out the back door. Nick looked at her and smiled. She looked up at him.

      “Hi,” Hayley said.

      “Hey, did you see the show?” Nick said sitting on the lounge beside her.

      “Yeah, I watched it with Leighanne and Kristin,” Hayley said.

      “The guys and I talked afterwards, we decided to get back into the swing of things and get to work on a new album, it just felt so right, having all five of us together again,” Nick said.

      “AJ looked like he was doing better,” Hayley said. Nick smiled.

      “He is doing better, it’s the best I’ve ever seen him, he was like the old AJ, clean and sober,” Nick said. Hayley looked at him.

      “Think you could learn from him,” Hayley said.

      “Hey, I have learned my lesson,” Nick said.

      “You better have,” Hayley said.

      “So what’s up with you,” Nick said.

      “Not one thing, just tanning,” Hayley said.

      “You are already tanned,” Nick said.

      “So,” Hayley said.

      “You don’t need to get any darker,” Nick said.

The phone rang. Hayley grabbed it.

      “Hello,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, have you told Nick how you felt about him?” Leighanne asked.

      “No, I haven’t, why,” Hayley said.

      “Don’t tell him, Brian just told me that Nick has a girlfriend,” Leighanne said.

      “Really,” Hayley said.

      “Yeah, and it’s Paris Hilton,” Leighanne said.

      “Oh,” Hayley said. She looked at Nick.

      “I couldn’t believe it, but I know Brian doesn’t kid around about this kind of thing, I gotta go,” Leighanne said.

      “Talk to you later,” Hayley said. She hung up and rested her head back and closed her eyes.

      “What was that about,” Nick said.

      “Leighanne and I were talking earlier, she just called to tell me something that she forgot to tell me earlier,” Hayley said.

      “Oh, and what was that,” Nick said.

      “None of your business, girl stuff, okay,” Hayley said.

      “Fine, bye,” Nick said. He got up and walked inside and out the front door. Hayley heard him drive off and tears ran down her cheeks.

Chapter 2

Nick stood there looking at Brian and Leighanne. They looked at him.

      “Why did you tell her I had a girlfriend, I was going to tell her,” Nick said.

      “When were you going to tell her, Nick,” Brian said. Nick sat down.

      “I don’t know,” Nick said.

      “You shouldn’t hide things from your best friend, Nick,” Leighanne said.

      “I know that,” Nick said.

Three months went by. Nick was spending most of his time with Paris and less time with Hayley and she was fed up. She told Brian to tell Nick that she doesn’t want him around her anymore. Hayley was sitting by the pool when Nick came out.

      “What the hell is your problem!” Nick said. Hayley ignored him.

      “Hayley!” Nick said.

      “Go away,” Hayley said coldly.

      “No, I won’t, I thought we were best friends,” Nick said.

      “Yeah right,” Hayley said.

      “We are,” Nick said.

      “When was the last time you came over here, huh, when was the last time we did anything together, you never called me or came over after you got back from being on the Oprah Show, you are always with your girlfriend, for three months, we haven’t spent any time together or seen each other or talked on the phone, you are always with that blonde bimbo,” Hayley said.

      “Don’t call her that!” Nick said.

      “I can call her anything I want, I have rights,” Hayley said.

      “It was a mistake coming over here, I don’t know why I’m friends with you,” Nick said.

      “Ditto for me, asshole,” Hayley said. Nick stormed through the house and out the door. The phone rang. Hayley picked it up.

      “Hello,” Hayley said.

      “Hey girl,” Leighanne said.

      “Hi,” Hayley said.

      “What’s wrong,” Leighanne said.

      “Nick was just here, I think I lost him for good,” Hayley said.

      “We will talk to him,” Leighanne said.

      “No, he doesn’t want to be around me, he has proven that already,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Leighanne said.

      “Bye,” Hayley said. She hung up and went inside. She went upstairs and changed clothes and came downstairs and saw Nick standing there.

      “What do you want,” Hayley said.

      “Why are you being this way?” Nick asked.

      “You don’t care anymore, so leave me alone,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, we have known each other forever, if you were feeling neglected, you could have told me,” Nick said.

      “Like you would have listened!” Hayley said.

      “What is going on, Hayley, talk to me,” Nick said.

      “You want to know what’s going on, I don’t like Paris okay, she took you away from me!” Hayley cried. Nick looked at her.

      “She took me away from you, what does that mean,” Nick said.

      “When you came home, I was going to tell you something but Leighanne called and told me you had a girlfriend,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “God, Nick, I’m in love with you, okay, I was going to tell you but after Leighanne told me you had a girlfriend, I couldn’t,” Hayley said sitting down. Nick looked at her. He couldn’t believe it.

      “How long have you felt this way?” Nick asked.

      “When I saw you on Oprah, I realized how I felt about you, but it doesn’t matter, you are with Paris,” Hayley said.

      “It does matter, Hayley, you could have told me when I got home!” Nick said.

      “I was going to, ok, I was about to but Leighanne called and told me about Paris, I was too late, someone else got you first, I lost my chance,” Hayley said. She ran upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom. She heard the front door close. Now she knew she lost him for good. She called Leighanne.

      “Hayley, what’s going on,” Leighanne said.

      “Nick knows I’m in love with him,” Hayley said.

      “Oh my god,” Leighanne said.

      “I don’t think anything is going to be the same, I may have lost him for good,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, it’ll be okay,” Leighanne said.

      “I can’t believe I lost my best friend,” Hayley said. She wiped her eyes.

      “You still have me and Brian, okay, we will be there for you,” Leighanne said.

      “Thanks,” Hayley said. She hung up and laid on the bed.

Chapter 3

Three weeks later, Hayley was over at Brian and Leighanne’s house. Kevin, Kristin, Howie, and AJ were there. They were all talking when Nick came in with Paris.

      “Guys, we have some news,” Nick said.

      “What is it,” Kevin said.

      “Paris and I got married!” Nick said. Everyone looked at him.

      “Nick, are you crazy,” Brian said.

      “You just went off and got married, just like that, without letting anyone know, us and your family,” Kevin said.

      “It was my choice,” Nick said.

      “Was it?” Kevin asked.

      “Yes, it was, I wanted to marry Paris and now we are married,” Nick said. Hayley looked at Leighanne and ran out the front door. She got into her car and went home and ran inside and looked around. She started throwing things and after she was done, the living room was a mess. She realized that she shattered the one thing that meant the most to her, the crystal vase that Nick got her when she got her house. She sank to the floor and started crying. She went upstairs and laid on the bed. She heard a noise and looked up and saw Kevin and Kristin standing at the doorway.  Kevin came over and sat down and held her as she cried. Kristin sat down and rubbed her back.

      “We saw the living room,” Kristin said.

      “I broke that crystal vase he got me,” Hayley said. Kristin held her hand.

      “We saw it,” Kristin said.

      “Why did he marry her, why did he do that!” Hayley cried.

      “He wanted to be with her,” Kevin said.

      “I have lost him,” Hayley said.

      “You will have us and Brian and Leighanne, AJ and Howie, too,” Kevin said.

Three months went by. Hayley hasn’t talked to Nick ever since before he got married. She was helping Howie out at Tabu.

      “Thanks for helping out, Hayley,” Howie said.

      “It keeps my mind off things, thanks for letting me help out,” Hayley said.

      “I don’t like losing employees,” Howie said.

      “Why did the bartender quit?” Hayley asked.

      “He was moving to New York with his wife, she got transferred up there,” Howie said.

      “I will help out as long as you want me to, or it could become permanent,” Hayley said.

      “You really would be the bartender?” Howie asked.

      “Yeah, we would be helping each other,” Hayley said. Howie smiled and kissed her cheek.

      “You got it, Hayley,” Howie said. Hayley hugged him and went behind the bar. She was mixing drinks when Nick walked into the club with Paris. He saw Hayley behind the bar.

      “Nick, there’s Hayley, go talk to her,” Paris said.

      “Are you sure that I should?” Nick asked.

      “You have known her forever, it’s time to get the friendship back on track,” Paris said.

      “I doubt it, she has feelings for me, I don’t know if I should go near her,” Nick said.

      “But you married me, Nick, that proves that you want to be with me, I wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t get your friendship back,” Paris said.

      “Why are you pushing me to go be friends with her again,” Nick said.

      “Because you are miserable and from what Brian and Leighanne said, she is, too, you two need to be at the same place you were before we got together,” Paris said.

      “All right,” Nick said. Paris hugged him and saw her friends and went over to join them while Nick made his way to the bar.

Chapter 4

Hayley was mixing drinks and talking with some customers when Nick came up to the bar. She looked at him and helped other customers.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “What do you want, Nick,” Hayley said.

      “Our friendship back,” Nick said.

      “Can’t help you there,” Hayley said. Howie came up to Nick.

      “Nick,” Howie said.

      “I just want to talk to Hayley,” Nick said.

      “Hayley, do you want to talk to him?” Howie said.

      “I guess I should,” Hayley said. They went to Howie’s office and closed the door. Hayley stood there looking at Nick.

      “What do you want to talk about?” Hayley asked.

      “Our friendship, I want it to be back to where it was, I need you in my life, Hayley, it can’t be more than friends, I need my best friend back,” Nick said.

      “Nick, I don’t know if I can be your best friend, I can’t get over my feelings for you, I have tried but I can’t,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, please, you are the only one who knows me, I need you in my life,” Nick said.

      “I’m sorry, but I can’t, not while you are married to Paris, I can’t compete with her,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, please, I need you, what can I do to get our friendship back?” Nick asked.

      “Nick, listen to me, okay, things can’t go back to the way they were, we can’t have the friendship back, it’s not going to work out, okay, not while I have feelings for you and not while you are married to Paris, because you won’t be spending much time with me while married,” Hayley said.

      “Paris wanted me to get our friendship back, I’m miserable without my best friend,” Nick said.

      “Nick, I can’t, okay, I just can’t be your best friend!” Hayley said. She went out the door and went home. She sat on the couch. The front door opened and closed. Nick came in.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “Nick, why don’t you get it, I can’t be friends with you while you are married, it won’t be the same as before because you are married to Paris, she is your wife,” Hayley said.

      “Paris and I aren’t married, the minister she hire was a fake, she told me that before I came here,” Nick said. Hayley looked at him.

      “So what is the status of your relationship with her,” Hayley said.

      “We are still a couple,” Nick said.

      “Nick, please, just go, I need to be alone,” Hayley said. Nick left.

Two days later, Hurricane Katrina was headed for Florida. Hayley stocked up on food. She heard the wind blowing and knew that the hurricane was close. She sat and waited for the storm to come. Hours went by and the hurricane was hitting the east coast of Florida. She heard someone pounding on her front door. She opened the door and saw Nick soaked. He came in and closed the door and locked it. He looked at her.

      “Nick, what are you doing here,” Hayley said.

      “I had to make sure you were okay,” Nick said.

      “I’m fine, why aren’t you with Paris,” Hayley said.

      “She’s in New York,” Nick said.

      “I’m fine, Nick, go back home before it’s too late,” Hayley said. Nick looked outside.

      “It is too late,” Nick said.

      “So you are stuck here,” Hayley said.

      “Looks like it, unless you want me to go out in that,” Nick said.

      “Well, no,” Hayley said.

      “It gives us a chance to talk,” Nick said.

      “I don’t want to talk right now,” Hayley said.

      “Well, we are going to talk because I don’t get why you have to be this way, why we can’t be the way we were,” Nick said.

      “You are dating someone else, Nick, that means all your time will be spent with Paris,” Hayley said.

      “I can spend time with you, too,” Nick said.

      “No,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “I don’t want to talk anymore,” Hayley said.

      “I do want to talk about it,” Nick said.

      “Why, Nick,” Hayley said.

      “You said you were in love with me, I’m in love with you!” Nick said. Hayley looked at him. He came over and kissed her deeply.

      “Nick, we can’t do this,” Hayley said as he began kissing her neck.

      “We can, Hayley, Paris and I are no longer together, we broke up before I came over here, she called and broke it off, I’m free,” Nick said. He pushed her against the wall and pressed his body against hers.

Chapter 5

Hayley was against the wall with Nick kissing her and pressing his body against hers. She couldn’t believe this was happening. His hands were all over her body.

      “I want you, Hayley,” Nick said kissing her neck. She closed her eyes and weakened against him. He picked her up and carried her over and laid her in front of the fireplace. He removed her clothes and removed his and he got out a condom and slipped it on and he made love to her. They laid there kissing afterwards when Nick’s cell phone rang. He got up and pulled out his phone from his pants and answered it.

      “Hello, hey, yeah, it’s not very bad, yeah, I will talk to you later, yeah, bye,” Nick said.

      “Who was that,” Hayley said getting dressed. Nick got dressed.

      “Nobody,” Nick said. Hayley grabbed his phone and looked at the number. She looked at him.

      “Why is Paris calling you if you two broke up,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said. Hayley looked at him.

      “You two aren’t broken up, are you,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said.

      “You just wanted sex, you used me for sex because Paris isn’t here!” Hayley said.

      “That’s not true!” Nick said.

      “Oh it’s not, I can’t believe you lied to me!” Hayley said.

      “Hayley,” Nick said. Hayley looked outside.

      “It’s safe for you to leave, get out,” Hayley said.

      “No,” Nick said.

      “Get out!” Hayley yelled. She pushed him to the door and opened it and pushed him out the door and closed it and locked it. She locked up and went upstairs and collapsed on the bed and cried. Her cell phone rang. She looked and saw it was Leighanne’s cell phone. She picked it up.

      “Hello,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, you okay?” Leighanne asked.

      “I’m fine,” Hayley said.

      “Hayley, what happened, it sounds like you were crying,” Leighanne said.

      “Nick was here, I can’t believe he would lie to me,” Hayley said.

      “What do you mean,” Leighanne said.

      “He told me that he and Paris broke up and he told me that he was in love with me and that he wanted me so we had sex, then Paris calls and he admits that they aren’t broken up,” Hayley said.

      “I can’t believe him, how could he do this to you,” Leighanne said.

      “I hate him, god, I hate what he did,” Hayley said.

      “I’ll tell Brian and he can deal with Nick,” Leighanne said.

      “Thanks, bye,” Hayley said. She hung up and laid there looking out the window.

Chapter 6

Three months later, Hayley stood in the bathroom looking at the tiny stick in her hand. She sat down and closed her eyes. She was pregnant with Nick’s child. She couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t spoken or seen Nick since she kicked him out of her house. Leighanne and Kristin came in.

      “Hayley,” Leighanne said.

      “It’s positive,” Hayley said.

      “Let’s go see a doctor,” Leighanne said. They went to the doctor’s office.

Two hours later, they arrived back at Hayley’s house. Hayley sat on the couch.

      “I’m three months pregnant with Nick’s child, I can’t believe this,” Hayley said.

      “You don’t have to tell him,” Leighanne said.

      “I am not going to,” Hayley said.

      “He doesn’t need to know,” Leighanne said.

      “Know what?” a voice asked. They looked at the doorway and saw Nick standing there with Brian.

      “What is he doing here?” Leighanne asked.

      “He wants to talk to Hayley and I agreed to help him,” Brian said.

      “I don’t want to talk to him,” Hayley said.

      “Well, you are going to, Hayley,” Brian said as he and Nick sat down.

      “Why,” Hayley said.

      “First off, Nick didn’t lie to you, he and Paris were broken up when he slept with you, she heard about the hurricane and called him to see if he was okay, when they broke up, they agreed to be friends and she was just called to see if he was okay, being a friend, that’s all, you didn’t give him the chance to tell you that, he has no reason to lie to you, and I don’t have any reason to lie to you,” Brian said.

      “Hayley, I never in my life lied to you and I wasn’t going to start then and I couldn’t lie to you, you know me as well as I know you,” Nick said.

      “I know you never have lied to me, I didn’t know what to think,” Hayley said. Nick sat down beside her and took her hands in his.

      “I don’t want to lose you from my life, Hayley,” Nick said.

      “You won’t,” Hayley said. He hugged her.

      “Everything will be better than before,” Nick said.

      “Things will be different in six months,” Hayley said. Nick pulled back.

      “What do you mean?” Nick asked.

      “You are going to be a father,” Hayley said. Nick grinned and hugged her again.

      “I am so happy, Hayley, I want to be a father so badly, now it’s happening,” Nick said.

      “What happens now?” Hayley asked.

      “I want to be with you, Hayley, every minute, I have been in love with you for a long time,” Nick said.

      “Same here,” Hayley said. Nick kissed her tenderly and held her close.