Title: The Return of The Runaway Bride
Summary: Haley and Nathan is getting married in their junior year, just when Haley's music career begins to take off. But when Haley is supposed to walk down the aisle, she has already escaped and leaves Nathan heartbroken into pieces by the altar. Eight weeks later Haley shows up knocking on Nathan's door. This is inspired by the song "Weddings Off" by Kurt Nilsen.
Pairing: Naley
Rating: T
Type: One shot (might extend it to a two shot)
Author: Ms. Smiley (CBK)
Disclaimer: I do not owe One Tree Hill or its characters. The song is Weddings Off by Kurt Nilsen.
A/N: Okay here it goes, it's a one-shot about Naley. My first Naley fic and it won't be the last. Reviews are very much appreciated, any response good or bad are greatly accepted. If I get good feedback I might make it into a two shot, meaning that I'll let you know what happens after this. So anyways I hope you have a good time reading :)
- Ms. Smiley (CBK)
"The Return of the Runaway Bride"
Oh where have you been?
Nathan looked at the woman that was standing in front of him waiting outside his door. Seeing her released all the emotions he had pushed away for so long now. This was the moment he had been waiting for the past eight weeks, to see her standing at his door saying that she had missed him as much as he missed her. But still he couldn't let go of all the questions he had. Where had she been hiding all this time? Did she run away to him? Why did she say she loved him for so to leave him hurt and humiliated in the worst possible way? But most of all why did he still miss her? The anger rose in him and he cursed himself for being such an idiot to actually allowing himself to miss her. He wasn't supposed to do that, especially not after the way she had left him. He wasn't even supposed to open the door for her and nevertheless let her in. He didn't owe her anything; she was the one who had left. But a part of him was curious to know why she had come back to see him. It had to be a reason… The curiosity and urge to what he was convinced was to get a closure, won him over and he let the door a bit more open and partially stepped out to her, with a firm face. His eyes flickered around for a moment before he finally decided and met her eyes. As their eyes locked he couldn't avoid seeing the sincere pain in her eyes and he felt everything coming over him, and suddenly he felt the strong longing for her again, but he managed with all his strength to set the feelings aside and keep his firm face.
I've been missing you
I've really been missing you
"Nathan I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I never meant to hurt you, I swear. I know you have every right to hate me and to shut the door in my face, but… I know I owe you an explanation. So please just hear me out…" Her eyes began to water and she took another deep breath before she dared to meet his eyes again, waiting anxiously for his reaction. She felt the disappointment rise in her as she saw his stiff face and as he just stood there, not twitching an inch, as if seeing her again didn't matter anything to him at all. She felt the tears press on and burn behind her eyelids as she looked up into is ice-cold eyes, but then as she met his eyes again a wave of both hope and guilt washed over her. In his eyes she saw his pain and anger and suddenly it wasn't hard to see that he was hurting at all. Oh how could she have been so thoughtless and just left him hurting like this? How could she ever convince him that she didn't mean to hurt him and that all she wanted was to be back in his arms? But still the pain and anger in his eyes told her that he still cared and as long as he still cared she might have a chance to let him see that the only guy she would ever love was him, Nathan Scott.
How am I gonna prove
This ain't no lie
This is all for real
This is how I feel inside
Nathan felt hard stings all over his body, his broken heart was beating faster by the sight of her standing there, causing all the tiny pieces of what was left of it to hurt even more than usual. The cold and overwhelming lump of emptiness in his stomach was forcing its way up causing him to tense his back and shoulders even more as the coldness spread out in his body. His head was a complete mess with thousands of thoughts spinning all at once in slow motion in his head. Why did she have to hurt him so much? And as much as she had hurt him, he couldn't help but to see the pain that she went through in this exact moment and that hurt him even more. The anger started to kick in and his body slowly started to heat up. His hands clenched into fists in frustration. Why was this so hard? He should just slam the door in her face and never think about her again, but if that had been possible for him to do, he would already have done it five minutes ago. No he knew that a part of him would never ever be able to that because of a simple yet complicated and in many ways tragic reason, he still felt something for her. Always and forever popped into his mind and he knew that was true. Hell he still loved her and that's why it was so hard. Because he cared about her. He didn't want her to be standing out here hurting like this, all he wanted and longed for, every second of the past eight weeks, was to hold her in his arms and embrace her tightly never letting her go again. But common sense stopped him from doing that, he was way too battered and bruised to let her just waltz into his life again like nothing had happend. He had trusted her with his life and let her all the way into his heart. He had trusted her to be careful and not do anything to deliberately cause him any harm, yet she had ended up humiliating and hurting him in the most painful way he could ever imagine. She had made him know what it was like to feel useless, heartbroken, worthless and like the dumbest fool on the face of the planet. He didn't even feel like a man anymore. And it was all because of her.
Nathan Scott wasn't used to be one who stood left behind with a broken heart. Before he really fell for Haley, he had been quite a player and the reason for many broken hearts and spilled tears, not that he cared about it. Well that was until the day Haley had come into his life and changed everything, she made him care for something more than himself. She was so pure and superior compared to him that he almost didn't feel worthy enough for her. Somehow she had managed to reach into him and get him to open up. She gave him a reason to become a better person. He wanted to be better person for every morning that he woke up, just so that he could feel worthy enough to be with her. Now he couldn't believe that he had wasted all that time on her. Now all he could think about if it was all just a lie. Was she really the girl she had let him believe she was? Because he knew that the Haley James he fell in love with, knew better than to run out of their wedding. He shrugged and his eyes flickered around for a moment before they met Haley's again. Yet something in her eyes told him, that the girl he loved so dearly might still be there. His firm face softened a bit, barely lifting his head in a nod, letting her know that he was listening.
Slap my face
I've just received a wakeup call
Seen the meaning of it all
It sucks but hell it is real
I failed, no wonder I'm in vain
Everything is true
This song was meant for you
Haley knew that this was her chance, it was now or never. She took a deep breath, afraid of stumbling on her words or that she would start to ramble, not really being able to say what she wanted. She looked into his dark blue eyes and in his eyes she saw something similar that she had felt the day she had realized what she had done.
It was the day of her first performance since she had runaway. The nervousness had never been worse and she was certain she wouldn't make it to the stage. After hiding under a desk trying to calm down singing to the finally of Les Miserable, she managed to get out on the stage where an anxious audience was waiting. It was a tough audience that night and she had to fight hard for their attention. Then she suddenly noticed a dark-haired guy close to the stage. He stood out to her because of his calm and interested expression. Due to the bright stage light, it was difficult to see him clearly, but nevertheless his eyes managed to capture her for a moment. Something seemed so familiar and fondly about him, and suddenly it hit her why. This guy had the exact same look in his eyes the day Nathan had bought her the keyboard as a surprise to her. They had just got engaged and moved in together and were struggling to make their rent, yet Nathan had bought her a keyboard so that she could develop her music, even if it meant that he would have to sell his car and walk to school and work everyday. He had told her that he had seen the way she stepped into another world when she was sitting by the piano and it seemed like magic when she let her fingers tenderly hit the keys, letting out wonderful tunes. He had said that he could listen to her for hours and that her voice put him under a spell causing him to fall even more in love with her.
Haley felt her stomach twist a little remembering her reaction. She was so thrilled and moved over it, yet all she could think about was all the money he had wasted. She was upset and had insisted that they couldn't keep it and that Nathan had to take it back. He didn't get it, after all he did it for her and so the fight was on. She was worried over his lacking experience with dealing with money and seeing things in a long term perspective while he was frustrated over that everything he did seemed to be wrong. The guy in the crowd had the exact same look in his eyes that Nathan had had when he walked in the door with the keyboard. His mesmerizing blue eyes were practically glowing that day, so full of excitement and expectations with a hint of encouragement. And that was the exact look the guy in the audience had in his eyes. He gave her confidence that night and gave her the strength she needed to sing. She remembered how weak the first tones were and the crowd just kept on making noise, not giving her an easy task. The nervousness only escaladed and suddenly it hit her completely, leaving her mind blank. She lost the lyrics and stumbled on the words and tones. The band stopped playing and suddenly the audience was quiet with all eyes on her. She felt the panic wash over and she froze up just like she had on her wedding day. But then her eyes found the encouraging and expectant eyes from the guy in the crowd and eventually she started to sing again. Not the song she was supposed to sing, but the song that had been stuck in her heart ever since the day she ran away. There she stood on stage frozen of panic, bit by bit releasing a bit of her heavy heart into a jagged melody, feeling the tears burn behind her eyelids as it hit her what she had let go of and what she had done to the person that mattered the most to her. The crowd became impatient and noisy again with a quiet buuh hitting her. She looked for the guy that reminded her of Nathan as she felt the panic start to overwhelm her again, but the all she could see was the bright stage light. It was getting harder to breathe, her chest tightened and her throat choked up as the tears were pressing on. She needed him. She needed Nathan. She couldn't take it, she had to get out, just like that fatal day.
Oh I guess I got scared
but I went out there
Well you know me
Well you know me
Her eyes flickered around for a moment as the memory faded away and she ran her fingers through her golden hair before she met his eyes again. Trying to explain what had gone wrong was hard, but she had to do it and she knew the reason now.
"I guess I got scared Nathan. Suddenly I got scared and panicked. It was like I couldn't breath and just needed to get out. Suddenly I realized what we were about to do and it scared me because I wasn't sure if I was ready for it. Everything was happening so fast that I didn't really understand what I was letting go off. I mean marriage is a big deal you know. It's for life and suddenly I realized that I didn't know letting go off my life before I even got to see what it was. And I want you to know that it wasn't because of Chris or the music that I left, it was because of me and that I suddenly I didn't know who I was. So why did I leave you and runaway from our wedding? I was scared. Terrified. I panicked. Suddenly I saw where my life was headed and that I might be way in over my head. It's not that I doubted my love for you Nathan, or your love for me, I know that you are my great love in life, but it was more about doubting myself. I have never failed at anything before and I didn't want our marriage to be my first failure. And now that I found you I suddenly have everything to loose... Things was just happening so fast that I didn't really realize what I was letting go off before it was too late so I got scared because I didn't know if I was ready for all of this and just completely panicked. I just had to get away from everything until I could find myself a little more. "
She paused to refill the air in her lungs and she took a deep breath before she continued. He looked away for a moment and blinked, almost letting her she that his eyes were tearing up. She felt a lump grow in her throat and she swallowed a couple of times before she looked at him again and captured his eyes.
"And it wasn't only for me that I runaway, I don't won't to hold you back Nathan and be the reason for you missing out on great opportunities. Like High Flyers. I want that we can still develop and do our own things. And I guess I doubted on our ability to do that without damaging our relationship. Because I know that both your basketball and my music will demand a lot of sacrifices, but I believe now that we can make it. And I know that we are both stubborn and passionate about the things we want Nathan, but I realized that it's not that important to me, cause I already found what I need. I remember the night of my first performance after I ran away and I that's also the night I realized what a fool I was and it ws also my only performance, or I don't know if you even can call it that…"
It's the fool in me
That forgets everytime
It's the state of conscience
That makes me go blind
We are both the passioned one
left behind
She paused again and dried off the few tears had escaped from her eyes and wandered down her cheek. He stood still but had softened a bit more. His face wasn't stiff and angry anymore, it was just sad. She exhaled deeply and continued.
"I got out of there Nathan, I just started to sing a song I kind of made right there and it was all about you and me and… And then I just ran out of there. I know it must seem like I have some sort of obsessive compulsion to run away from everything, but I swear this time I wasn't running away from something, Nathan, or I guess I actually did, because I ran away from a life in what I saw would be a life in misery and solitude. I was running back to you because I realized that the music didn't matter anymore, all I could think about was you. You are my music. And that's all the music I'll ever need. "
At her last words she couldn't hold it back anymore, the tears came streaming down her face yet a weak smile came through. She tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders looking up at him.
Oh I guess I got scared
but I went out there
Well you know me
Well you know me
"So there you have it Nathan. Here I am. I've never been so scared as this very moment my whole life, our wedding day and my latest performance included, but this time I ain't running away. This is the story Nathan and this is me, so now that you know it all I hope that you someday can forgive me and be able to trust me again."
Nathan couldn't do anything but to stand there and look at her as he took it all in. The emotions was about to take over and a felt a single tear run down his face. God how hard this was! He wanted to say goodbye right there and then, but if he did he knew that it he would regret it and that it could possible be the biggest mistake of his life. No this was his time to face his fear and not run away. He still loved her with every inch of his body and although she had caused him so much pain, he knew that by letting her go he would only cause more. He softly bit his lip as his thoughts were spinning in his head.
We are gathered here
I'll be staying this time
Then Nathan took a step forward and closed the door behind him. He looked at her as he slowly took a couple of more steps towards her. A few more tears traveled down his cheek and a small smile formed on his soft lips. This wasn't going to be easy he knew that. It would take a while before they would be back to the couple they once were and it would take even longer before they were ready to take the walk down the aisle, but nevertheless something told he that it would eventually happen some day. Haley's tears kept streaming down her face as she saw him coming towards her, but out of joy now. He came closer to her and this time she didn't run away. She took a step towards him as he opened his arms to embrace her and gladly accepted.
Oh, I guess I got scared...
As she fell back into his strong protective arms, she immediately felt the relieve of being back home were she belonged and she knew that if she ever got scared again, the only place she would escape to, was his arms.
THE END