Disclaimer: all creative rights to the One Tree Hill characters belong to their original creator(s)!
This is going to be a short multi-fic, featuring only Nathan and Haley. I hope you like it...
"We have everything, right?" she throws at him as she closes the front door.
"Yes! Can we please go? It's a bit of a drive to get there."
He's standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up and waiting for her to reappear.
"You're sure? First Aid kit? Camera? Matches? Enough food? Water?"
She walks slowly down the stairs, emphasizing each question with every step she takes.
He groans loudly. "Yes! And you did most of the packing! It's not like we're going off to the desert. We can buy more food on the way if it makes you happy."
She pauses on the second-last step so that she can be at eye level with him, hands on her hips. "Nathan, if you're telling me everything is there and then I find out we are missing something important, I will be very angry with you."
Her eyes are narrowed, as if searching for the absolutely truthful answer in the baby blues of his eyes.
He thinks she looks adorable.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he sweeps her off her feet and puts her down on the graveled lot.
"If I've forgotten something and I remember on the way, I'll buy it in one of the many stores between here and there without letting you know, okay?"
She narrows her eyes slightly at him. "Okay. Just make sure I don't find out."
"Double sure. I know how mean you can be when it comes to silent treatmentizing."
It kills him when she's giving him the cold shoulder, wondering if she'll choke him in his sleep from pent-up fury.
She kisses him quickly and moves away from his arms.
"Let's go, then!" she says as she circles to the passenger side.
Camping isn't her idea of fun. A hike is not even remotely close to an ideal adventure-date. It sounds grueling and painful, and she's terribly nervous.
"Won't we get lost up there? I've been reading about it and it sounds…"
She turns to look at him. "It sounds a little scary. There are people who've gotten lost up there."
Although nothing popped up for this particular park they are going to, she read other stories about other hikers getting lost in other forests. It was quite alarming.
"Don't be scared. Besides, it's not like you're going alone. And we're only going for the day."
She sighs. "I know. I'm just not a nature girl. I'm a homebody."
He laughs, reaching for her clammy hand, his eyes on the road, rubbing the back of her hand reassuringly with his thumb.
"Just think of this as an adventure. One of those things you're doing before you're old, brittle, toothless and senile."
Chuckling nervously, she repeatedly squeezes his hand.
"I'm telling you, Hales. You will love the waterfall."
She looks at him. "You talk as if you've been here before."
"I have. I didn't tell you?"
She shakes her head. "No. I thought we were coming here as two blind mice!"
He laughs. "My dad took me when I was fourteen. It's one of the few moments I can say were good between him and me. It seems like a lifetime ago, though."
Dan Scott can be likened to the definition of poison. He's a man with a sprinkling of everything deemed unworthy as a personality trait: ruthless, pushy, arrogant…just to name a few.
Surprisingly, he wasn't a bastard on their hiking trip, unlike the father-son golfing trip that he coerced Nathan to participate in a few months ago, where they were at each other's throats before even crossing the Tree Hill border. He was such a nut that Nathan lost his sanity at the fourth hole and just came home. Alone.
She nods understandingly, rubbing his arm. "I can't picture you hiking, though. Sorry, baby."
He looks sideways at her and grins. "I'm no expert but we can do this. Together, right?"
"Always."
When he parks the car, he looks over at his wife. He still can't believe that he's married while in high school. He can't believe she said yes to a screw-up like him.
Her head is lying against the window, leaving her silky smooth neck exposed. There's a sprinkle of freckles on the side of her neck that looks like a pattern in the constellation Orion. Her long eyelashes are a dark contrast against her creamy skin, her chest softly heaving as she breathes in and out. If he watches any longer, they'll never get on the trail. He gently shakes her.
"We're here, Hales."
She groans.
He rubs his knuckles against her cheek. "Babe. We're here."
"Can I sleep a little longer?" she mumbles.
He laughs quietly, running a finger along her jaw. "We should get going before it gets too hot. And it would be better to be done before dark. We're already late."
She opens her eyes slowly and looks around sleepily. Stifling a yawn, she says, "Okay."
She slept away some of that nervousness, but she's still a little terrified.
They collect their backpacks, walking hand-in-hand towards the visitor's centre.
"You know, you didn't have to wear shorts."
She adjusts the backpack's straps on her shoulders. "If I'm going hiking, I might as well look the part. I have jeans in my bag, anyway."
"Regular Girl Scout, aren't you?" he says amusedly. She looks so cute in her dark green ensemble.
"Brownie. Why do you always forget?"
"What's the difference?"
"We wore brown."
"And the others?"
"I don't know."
"But you had the same mottos and whatnot."
"I don't know but I guess Girl Scouts were older."
"What do you know?"
"I know we wore brown."
He laughs and she pulls her Ravens hat lower on her head. The sun is hot out here.
"How hot will it get?"
She's already feeling the heat underneath her lightweight hoodie.
"It's cooler in the woods."
"Hang on a sec."
She drags the backpack off her shoulders and holds it between her legs, unzipping the hoodie and tying it around her waist. Removing the cap, she combs her hair with her fingers, pulling it back in a ponytail with the elastic band on her wrist.
"Okay. Let's go."
The backpack may be small but it's a little heavy. She came prepared.
He rolls his eyes. "Need make-up, too?"
She slaps the hat back on, resuming their walk to the visitor's centre.
"I was hot! What was I supposed to do? Pass out from the heat before we've even began?"
"At least we would have begun. It's almost noon. All your bathroom breaks on the way were just too much."
He halts and turns back to her. "Were you stalling?"
She gasps, a little too loudly. "Of course not! I want to do this!"
Liar, liar, pants on fire. Hanging by the tongue on a telephone wire.
He narrows his eyes at her for a moment. "Sure."
He's noticed she prolongs the time before doing something she really doesn't want to do.
Selective procrastination. Like postponing a basketball lesson with him for a gym credit she clearly requires, waiting until the very last minute and opting to do it granny-style.
"Honest! How far is this visitor's centre, anyway?" she asks, taking his hand.
"Just around the bend."
They walk in companionable silence, their boots crunching on the gravel the only sounds between them.
"Welcome to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. How can I help you?" asks the Park Ranger.
"Hi. We want to see Laurel Falls," Nathan tells him as he throws an arm around Haley's shoulders.
"Please fill this form for your permit."
He hands them a paper, Haley completing it quickly. The ranger clicks on his keyboard, stamps it and hands it back to her.
"Keep that with you at all times. Here is your Park Trail map. Laurel Falls is about one and a half miles that way and it follows a paved trail, so you won't get lost," he says in a monotone, pointing to their right.
"All wildlife and plants are protected by law. Failure to abide by these rules and regulations is a violation that would charge you, either monetary or jail time. Please beware of wild animals, stay on the marked trails and enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
Haley's arm around Nathan's waist is tight as they walk out of the visitor's centre.
"You okay?" he asks her.
Her eyes are wide as she looks up at him. "Wild animals?"
Hearing it from the Park Ranger makes it a little real. She'll be ripped to shreds by merciless animals. She can't run to save her life. Or can she?
"It's a national park, Hales. There are animals."
Her lips clamp together. "I don't think I can do this. Can we go home? I could go to the library. Or take a shift at the café. What was I thinking? I can't even garden, Nathan! Remember that violet you brought me that died after two days? Two days!"
She's panicking. "Honey, I can't d—"
"Babe." He places his hands on her shoulders, squeezing gently. "Breathe."
She takes in quick sharp breaths.
"Slower."
She breathes in and out slowly until she's calmer.
"Good. Listen to me. We will not be attacked by wild animals. Got that?"
"But he—"
"It's just standard procedure to inform visitors about the animals. I heard the same speech from a different guy three years ago. The animals are nowhere close to the trail. We'll be fine, okay? Okay?"
"Okay."
He takes her hand, kissing the back of it. "Okay. Let's do this, Mrs. Scott. Ready?"
She breathes out one more time and gives his hand a squeeze. "Ready."
"Be careful. It's a little steep and I don't want you hurting yourself."
"Don't you want a reason to be all macho and carry me?"
He chuckles. "I prefer carrying you when I know you'll be screaming out in pleasure, not pain."
She swats his back. "Hang on a minute. I want a picture of these pretty flowers. Can you hand me the camera?"
He stops and turns toward her. "You want a picture of a bush?"
"A very pretty bush. See?"
She gestures towards the colorful shrubs of purple and yellow. "I've never seen them before."
"Probably because you don't live in the wild."
"Oh, hush. Can you take a couple?"
He takes out the camera and snaps several pictures of the shrubs, and then of Haley standing next to them.
"Why would you pose in front of bushes? Are you an aspiring gardener? I thought you said you can't even garden?"
"Just take the pictures!"
In one, she's absolutely freaked out about a bee buzzing around her, when it's in fact a fly. It's his favourite.
"Let me see. These are so going up on my page."
"Please don't tag me, Hales."
She punches his arm playfully. "Are you going to divorce me if I do?"
"Now that's an idea."