Title: Like Flower Petals
Rating: T
Genre: Romance
Pairing: Jake/Haley
Summary: Haley's first kiss was with an entirely different Raven.

Like Flower Petals

1/1

Long before Nathan ever came into her life, Haley James had liked an entirely different Raven. He was quiet and smart and had a love for music that rivaled her own. He wrote his own songs and music and she admired him from afar since she was just twelve years old. It wasn't the basketball player she wanted though, not like a lot of the other girls - namely cheerleaders. She wanted the kindred soul that sat under trees during school breaks, composing little bits of music and tapping his pencil against his temple in thought. She wanted the nice, sweet, funny boy who sat next to her in Math class, always doodling and humming and telling her a random joke.

He was cute; in that overgrown, curly brown hair and lanky boy-next-door way. And she felt like she compared little to the upbeat little drones that cheered his team on. She was outgoing, but her nerves always got the best of her around him. Three years she'd been crushing on him and while she was able to talk without stuttering, she was pretty sure she wasn't putting out any 'let's be more than friends' vibes. She was used to being considered one of the guys; given her friends were all adolescent males that saw "Hales" instead of Haley. But she wanted him to see something more; she wanted him to look at her and see not just another person to hear his jokes, but a girl with similar interests; a girl with a certain sweet appeal.

And yeah she wasn't drop dead gorgeous like Brooke Davis or Peyton Sawyer, but she was smart and nice and she could talk music like nobody's business. She knew music rivaled basketball for him; she could see it in the expressions he made while he composed his songs. The concentration and the furrow of his brows told her his songs were intimate; were bits of his soul written on paper. Like her songs; like her music that poured from the heart and not from the mind.

"Hey," she heard and looked up from her book to see the object of her adoration staring down at her, a lop sided smile on his face. "I didn't know you hung out here."

She lifted a shoulder. "Once and a while." She smiled slightly. "It's quieter when school's out. Easier to write, think... Be."

He nodded, taking a seat next to her. He leaned over her shoulder to see just what it was she was writing and she found her heart stutter just a bit. He was so close and wow, was it even possible for him to look better? He smelled good too; not like the rest of the guys she knew, who often smelled like they just finished bathing in sweat.

"Do you play, too?"

"Guitar," she replied. "And a little piano."

He grinned. "I play guitar too."

"Yeah?" She already knew that but he didn't need to know she'd seen him, strumming on his porch steps, so involved in the beat he was picking.

He nodded, eyes scanning the music notes. "This is good," he murmured, eyes thinning slightly.

She noticed his fingers moving against an invisible guitar and then, unconsciously, he was humming. Her tune, under his breath, so soft she almost leaned in just to hear it better. Sounded better coming from him than in her head, she thought. "Do you have lyrics?" he wondered.

She drew them out from beneath and passed them to him, slightly uncomfortable now. She didn't share her music with anyone. Lucas practically had to tie her down and search her room for any little scrap of lyric. But here she sat, handing them over without pause. His warm brown eyes looked them over, smile lifting slightly as he read, nodding where he liked it and his mouth tightening ever so slightly when he didn't quite agree. She liked that; the honesty there.

"I'd change the ending there," he told her, pointing and lifting his gaze to her.

She glanced down, reading through the line. "To what?"

"I don't know. I just don't think it fits."

She lifted a brow. "It's describing her first kiss."

He nodded. "So you think that's accurate?"

She didn't reply right away. She didn't exactly have any proof to fall back on; she was a kiss virgin, sadly. "I think so."

He smiled slowly. "You don't sound sure."

She sighed, rolling her eyes upward. "Well I was sure until you said I should change it."

He lifted his hands in surrender, chuckling good-naturedly. "Hey, I'm just offering some friendly advice."

She frowned to hide her smile. "Thanks, but I'll stick with what I have for now. At least until I find a more description."

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the tree. "So is that what your first kiss felt like?" he asked.

She turned to him, expression widening with surprise. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"What then?"

She sighed. "You ask a lot of questions."

He grinned. "And you elude them pretty well." He sat forward again. "Never had a first kiss, really. I mean, I think I might'a kissed my cousin when I was like four... But other than that..."

Her eyes widened and she looked at him. "Your cousin, huh?" she said, trying to keep the mood lighthearted.

He snorted. "Yeah. I know. Sad." He lifted a shoulder. "Just haven't found the right girl, I guess."

"Me either," she murmured. "Boy, I mean," she added quickly, blushing. "I like boys."

He laughed, nodding. "Good."

She nodded before smiling at him strangely. "Why?"

"Well it'd be awkward if I admitted I liked you only to find out you were more into like Peyton Sawyer or something."

"Peyton's a little dark for my taste," she told him, chuckling. She stopped abruptly and shook her head. "Wait, are you saying you like me?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe?"

She chuckled. "Well... Maybe I like you too." She looked over at him side-long, watching as that lopsided smile of his spread across his face.

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them sort of relishing in the relief of getting their feelings out there.

"So we like each other and neither of us have had a first kiss," he said, looking over at her with a lifted brow and a nervous expression.

Her stomach twisted up in knots and she felt her palms sweat. This was one of those moments she'd dreamt of a million times over since she was just twelve. And now she couldn't help wonder what she ate that day and whether or not her breath stunk. God, why was this happening now? Why couldn't it happen after extensive grooming where she looked fantastic and smelled good and her teeth were so white they blinded bystanders?

"Couldn't hurt," she said quietly.

"Could help, really. With your song," he said, nodding.

"Yeah. I should definitely do research; make sure the song is, um, accurate." She nodded, eyes staring at him.

He swallowed tightly, nodding, eyes falling for just a second. "Gotta be accurate."

He was leaning and she was leaning in and she feared she might actually laugh; she just felt so giddy. Their noses brushed, just lightly, and they both smiled. And then his lips were against hers; soft and sweet. They didn't move for a second but then his mouth parted and hers followed suit, and they slanted together, fitting like puzzle pieces. Her eyes fell closed and a warmth filled her stomach and rose to her chest. It slid up her throat and then her face and spread out along her skin, making her fingertips tingle and her body hyperaware of his. One of his hands tangled in her hair, slipping under her knit green hat to draw her closer. Air didn't seem a necessity; she just wanted to kiss him. A little longer; she could push past the ache in her chest. Her lips tingled and she couldn't remember exactly when it was she closed her eyes, but it felt right. All of it felt right; there was a calming completeness filling her.

His teeth grazed her lower lip, tongue soothing it away. It was hard to believe this was his first kiss, but she found herself doing things she'd never think to do. Instinct taking over as her tongue trailed along his upper lip and her hands reaching, fingers grabbing the collar of his shirt and then sliding around to curl against the back of his neck. And then it was all slowing down, the kiss becoming less frenzied and more lazy. Her lungs ached for air and she found herself panting just slightly against his mouth. His own breath beat against her mouth heavily and with one last, sweet kiss they pulled back.

Her eyes opened, looking over to find his were still shut. She tucked her hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture and wondered if she was as flushed as she felt.

"Wow," he murmured, eyes slowly opening to look at her. He lifted his fingers to touch his mouth and then looked up at her nervously. "Kind of felt like flower petals."

Her smile was so wide it no longer felt as though it fit on her face. That was, without a doubt, the sweetest thing she ever heard.

She licked her lips, chuckling under her breath. "That's one way to put it."

He grinned, running a hand though his hair.

There was a sudden honk of a horn and he looked up. "Oh, uh, that's my mom." He flushed slightly and stood up awkwardly, hands finding his pockets. "So, um, are you busy this weekend?"

She shook her head.

"You wanna see a movie?"

The honk repeated and she glanced at the car briefly. "Yeah, sure, that sounds fun."

"All right. Great. So, uh, I'll call you then."

She lifted a brow. "Do you have my number?"

He stopped walking backwards and his expression became confused before he blushed. "No." He chuckled awkwardly.

She smiled, writing it down on the corner of her music sheet and then tore it off, handing it to him. She felt his fingers touch hers as he took it and that warmth came back, making her shiver slightly. He licked his lips, as if acknowledging that feeling himself and then nodded at her. "See ya Haley."

"See ya," she said, watching as he walked off.

She watched him until he was gone, jumping into his mom's car. She lifted her hand to her mouth and then looked down at the lyrics she'd showed him. She scratched out the words he said didn't fit and wrote instead, "like flower petals." She smiled, biting down on her lip and trying to push down the feeling of excitement that called for dancing and shouting and whooping with joy. She had a date that weekend with the boy of her dreams - the only thing better was a first kiss with the same boy.

Wiping her hands off with a towel, she drew herself out of her thoughts and looked down at the wedding band on her finger. After that moment, she'd expected her and Jake were going to become a lot more. Some time in between that kiss and the date that should have been though, everything just sort of fell apart. He had to go out of town and while away, he met Nikki. And when he got back, he was even more nervous and evasive around her. He didn't give an explanation to his sudden curtness but when Jenny came to light, she understood. And by then, she was with Nathan, soothing her heart with another Raven. One that happened to be really good at breaking said heart.

"Haley?" she heard, his deep voice and heavy footsteps rose as he got closer. "You're not doing the dishes are you? I told you I'd do them tonight."

She smiled. "You were busy."

"And you're pregnant," he replied, walking into the kitchen.

"Jenny in bed?"

"Snug as a bug," he replied absently, searching the fridge for something to drink.

"Check the side," she told him.

He turned his head and grinned, pulling out a Red Bull. He was dressed in his basketball shorts and an old faded jersey. Cracking the tab on the can, he closed the fridge door and crossed to her, pressing a lingering kiss to her mouth. Her eyes fell closed and she felt his lips against her forehead a second later. "Get off your feet, okay? I'm gonna go shoot some hoops with Luke."

She nodded, eyes slowing opening.

His hand rubbed the curve of her stomach, lingering for a moment. "Jamie gave me his cape today," he told her.

Her brows lifted. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he said he wanted his brother to be a superhero too," he said, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. "I told you. It's a girl!"

He gave her his trade-mark lopsided smile and leaned down to press a kiss against her lips. "You say so," he murmured.

"I do," she replied, soft against his mouth.

His hand rose, fingers sliding into her hair, thumb against her cheek, stroking gently. She felt her back hit the sink counter and then he stood closer, his stomach pressed to hers. His Red Bull was abandoned on the counter, eyes set solely on her. She felt her heart stutter a bit; she didn't know how he did this. After her divorce from Nathan, she'd honestly given up on the whole 'true love lasts forever' thing. And then Jake came back into town and she'd tried - really, really tried - to ignore the way her stomach still clenched around him and her eyes still wandered to watch his hands, long fingers strumming the guitar intimately. She tried to pretend that her eyes didn't fall shut at the sound of him singing, that her whole body didn't automatically find the beat and sway to it just slightly. But eventually, she couldn't ignore it anymore and when he sang a song one night, "Petal Kiss," she realized maybe she wasn't the only one still thinking of it. By the time he was done his set, they shared a mind-blowing reunion kiss that put their first to the test. And this was where it led her; to a life where true love had a pretty damn good chance of lasting forever.

There was a bang on the window behind them and their reverie was broken.

"Hey! Quit with the hanky-panky. Let's get this game going!" Lucas' voice called through, his laughter following.

She snorted, rolling her eyes.

Jake lifted a shoulder at her, expression apologetic. "I did promise."

"Go ahead," she told him, smiling.

He grinned, kissing her cheek before grabbing his Red Bull and heading toward the door. "You're getting off your feet, right?" he asked, lifting a brow at her.

"Of course." No, she wasn't. She had work to do. And her feet weren't bugging her that much. And her back wasn't knotting up on her as bad as it often did these days. She was fine.

He stared at her disbelivingly.

"I will," she assured, chuckling lightly. "Soon. After a little work."

"Haley..." he sighed.

"Jake..." she sighed back mockingly.

He smiled. "Fine. But I guarantee you when I'm done this game, you're off your feet for the rest of the night."

She grinned, nodding. Something in the gleam of his eye told her the rest of the night was probably going to be filled with a whole lot of exhausting activity anyway. She bit her lip, glancing out the window as he appeared next to Lucas, bouncing the ball over to him. A revved up, sweaty Jake Jagielski... She was in heaven.

Author's Note: I really enjoyed this one. It flowed nicely. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are sustenance, readers! Luv yas - Fina!