Northern Downpour

Nearly three weeks later at the end of May, Haley had finished all her finals and packed her bags, eager to head home for the summer. But before she did, she made one last stop. Planning had actually worked out in Haley's favor that she had shipped stuff home and all she had to do was go to visit Jack. Jack had been consistently texting and becoming close with Haley, and, for the most part, Haley let him in. He was fun to talk to and she enjoyed just having fun. Jack was a complete goof, but he was polite.

Jack had invited her for the weekend to stay with him mom, his brother with the curls, and himself. Jack explained that it was more like a vacation for him. He hadn't been to Europe but he felt like he needed to come back to Vermont and Haley was on his 'must see' list.

Haley laughed as she sat with Jack under the stars, looking up at the clear Vermont sky. She flopped back on the grass, "I kind of like this. It reminds me of home." Haley said wistfully, her guard down.

Jack watched her, he couldn't help it. She was cute in some way, he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Yeah? Where's home."

Haley smiled, "Colorado." She said, "Another couple of days and I'm home." Haley was excited to be home, away from the city. She figured Colorado was to her, what Vermont was to Jack; A place to recharge her batteries, where she could be herself and not be put against an expectation or an image or anything.

"Colorado's gorgeous." Jack replied, laying back next to her in the grass as they looked up at the stars together.

Haley leaned over and put her head on Jack's shoulder, his arm finding it's way around her shortly thereafter. "I go back for the summers and I swear when school starts, I find myself more and more home-sick than the year before." Haley closed her eyes.

"You know, Vermont is a lot like Colorado." Jack said, smiling a little.

"You're full of shit." Haley responded, "The mountains are higher with more snow."

"Ouch girl." Jack laughed, clasping a hand to his chest, "Right in the heart."

Haley laughed as she looked at Jack. Somehow, she couldn't help but think, maybe she had Jack pegged wrong. Maybe Jack wasn't the kind of guy she thought he was. He wasn't showing off for his friends or family. He wasn't the kind of New York jerk she'd become accustomed to spending her weekends with while she was in school. He was different. She couldn't place her finger on it, but she liked the kind of different that he was.

Haley looked up to see Jack just looking at her, him and those blue eyes and smile. She leaned up and pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his lips. Jack was a little surprised, he wasn't sure what had possessed her to do that but he liked it. Jack felt wrong about gaming her before, but this felt different. Jack didn't feel like this was a game. This felt real to him. Jack was actually starting to care for Haley, not that he didn't before, but, it was different.

Haley returned home to Colorado after seeing Jack. The summer was pretty good, save for the brief hospital stay, she had fun. She fell more in love with Colorado and before she knew it, she was transferring to finish her degree at CU Denver. It made the most sense to Haley. She had finished all her pre-requisites in New York and she could say she had been to New York, but she missed home, she missed everything to do with home. So why go back? The only person in New York that was keeping her there was Marge. As much as she loved Marge, she couldn't justify staying and spending all that money just for Marge.

"Oh my gosh, girl I have been waiting for you to call me!" Marge practically yelled in to the phone, followed by the voices of Marge's roommates in New York

Haley couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, "Yeah, I know it's been a while." Haley's voice was a little somber, somewhat sad. "Sounds like you've got a house full of people." Haley tried to smile but she just couldn't manage.

"And you sound like you're about to cry." Marge said with a little laugh, the background noise slowly fading in to the background.

Haley sighed some, "Marge, I'm just calling to tell you I won't be back in the fall."

Marge dropped her wine glass on the floor, causing it to shatter, "Shit. Haley James..." She started, "What do you mean you're not coming back? You love New York."

Haley shrugged, "Well, I finished all my pre-requisites and so I can go to CU Denver and finish up." Haley said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I need to be close to my parents and I don't think I can give up another winter here."

Marge frowned, "You'll come visit right?" She pouted on the other end of the phone, "Come on, who's going to get in trouble with me now?"

Haley laughed, "Yeah, I'll come visit when I can and we can cause all kinds of trouble." She said, "I gotta run though so I'll catch you later."

That wasn't easy and Haley felt a little bad about it but there was nothing she could do. She wanted to be home. Hell, she hadn't even told Jack or Kevin, but, she figured that maybe she didn't have to. She didn't exactly have to explain herself to them, they were just friends.

Fall came and Haley moved from her small town to a place in Denver and started classes. She was enjoying getting back into the rhythym of being in school and meeting new people, meeting new friends. It didn't hurt either that had begun to bartend. It made her schedule easy and she enjoyed the tips, she had all kinds of spending money. Plus, it didn't hurt that she was good at it.

Months passed and with her move to Denver and new friends she slowly fell out of touch with Marge, Kevin, and despite all their best attempts, Jack. The last straw on the camel's back, so to speak, was Haley losing her phone in the back of a cab. She ultimately had the phone replaced and her number changed.