A/N: Hey Readers! I decided to write a new story for you all. Have you all heard of the famous fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood"? Well that was the inspiration for this story. It's not going to be a fantasy and there will not be a wolf at all. So don't worry about that. This is definitely a Naley fic set in reality. I wanted to use the concept of that story for this one. You know a young girl with her grandmother and other stuff that I will not spoil you with. Hopefully you will get how I'm using that fairytale as my inspiration. I just tweeked it a little bit. Actually, I tweeked it a lot. :) I hope you enjoy the prologue.

Steadfast

Prologue// Leaving Town

I was the moon that graced the blue midnight sky. I was youth, perfect cheeks, and big brown eyes. I was the softness of the covers and the stitches of the fabric that held everything together. I was the harmony of an old folk song. She was the fragile ornament hanging on the Christmas tree. She was the rough hand that glided along the white keys of a piano. She was the melody of the song that I sang. She was wisdom, adventure, and beauty. Together, we were a castle. When you put us together, we almost seemed like royalty. We kept a treasure that was only meant for our eyes only and nothing could tear that apart.

It almost seemed impossible to connect with someone fifty years your senior like I connected with my grandmother. She was my rock and my best friend. I'm not saying that I didn't have a best friend my own age because I did. I just shared something very special with my grandmother. It was a rare relationship too. It was deeper than the ones I had with my parents and my friends. It was because we made a promise to each other on my seventh birthday.

I was just starting to read and write. I was pretty excited and proud of myself too. I remembered coming home from my first grade class full of enthusiasm because I received my first A on cursive writing. I started writing on every single surface of the house; the walls, the coffee table, even the floral fabric off the couches. I was a little writing monster. My mother complained about all the colorful messes I made around the house. But I remembered looking up at her one day while she rubbed the Crayola off the wall. She was lecturing me and at the same time she was laughing. She was amused by me. I was glad that my fascination with writing wasn't such a horrible thing after all.

Later that year, I celebrated my seventh birthday. My grandmother was visiting. She only lived in a city away so she visited as much as possible. I had all of my friends surrounding me in the dining room. Presents were piling up on the table and there was a white cake with pink icing embroidering the edges.

I was a pink lover when I was younger, but now I absolutely hated it. I don't know why I all of sudden hated the color pink. I think it was the year that I turned eleven. I had this big crush over this boy named Aaron Armstrong. He had blonde spiky hair and always wore the coolest shirts. He was a trouble maker. I had a thing for those types of boys when I was younger. When Valentines arrived, I decided to make him a pink card shaped as a heart. Inside the card I wrote, "Will you be my valentine?" in cursive of course. And I gave it to him after school. I remember him looking at me when I gave it to him. He laughed as he read it. He ripped it in half and said no. That was the day I became a heart broken eleven year old who hated the color pink.

Anyways, while I was waiting at the end of the table for my mother to come by and light up my seven candles, my grandmother appeared at the entrance way of the room. She walked over to me and told me to follow her into the living room. I left all of my friends behind and followed. She sat down on the sofa chair near the window and leaned over to grab a small gift from a secret place behind the sofa. She lifted me up on her lap and handed the beautifully wrapped present to me.

"Open it," she smiled.

I slowly peeled the white and red paper off the square object and revealed a peach colored booklet.

"Your mother's been telling me you've been writing everywhere," she started, moving her hand down my long brown hair. I nodded and glided my fingers across the cover. "Well, I decided to give you this. It's a booklet full of blank pages. You can rip out the pages and you can do whatever you want with it." She opened the book and flipped through the lined papers inside. I felt incredibly giddy at that moment. While other girls were getting excited over Barbie dolls, I got excited over blank notebooks.

"Thank you, grandma," I said as I wrapped my arms around her neck for an embrace.

"No problem, sweetie." When we parted from our hug, I hopped off her lap and returned to my seat in the dining room. My grandmother stood at the corner of the room with my mother as I blew out my candles and opened all of my presents. It was a pretty sight to see.

Once the party was over, everyone left and said their goodbyes. My mom and dad were busy picking up all the trash and empty plates from the table when I sat in the living room thinking of something to write in my book.

"What are you doin' baby?" my father asked, walking into the living room holding a few plastic plates in his hand. I turned back and said, "Writing." He smiled and leaned over to kiss me on top of my head. When he left the living room to go back into kitchen, I heard my mother and grandmother talking in the hallway. It seemed like they were raising their voices at each other.

"Mom, this isn't happening. You can't just move to the other side of the country just because . . ."

"Lydia, that's our hometown. I'm retiring this year and all I want to do is live back home in North Carolina."

"Mom, you need to stay close to us. What about your health?"

"I just want to be near your father."

When I heard that my grandmother was leaving California to live somewhere else I was surprised. I immediately dropped my pen and ran towards the hallway. My grandmother's back was towards me when I ran over to them. My mother watched as I tried my hardest to keep her close.

"Don't leave!" I yelled. My grandmother turned around and noticed that I was attached to her hip.

"Sweetie," she patted my head. "Don't worry."

"Please, please don't leave," I begged.

I heard her say something to my mom, something about "talking later". My mother kissed me gently on the cheek and left to leave me and my grandmother alone. My grandmother held my hand and led me back into the living room where I left my open booklet. She gently picked up the book from the floor and sat on the sofa chair with me on her lap.

"I know it's going to be sad when I leave here, Haley," she began. "But there is something or someone that I want to see in North Carolina. "

"Who?" I asked.

She smiled at me. I could see the little wrinkles around her eyes as her cheeks rose.

"The love of my life," she answered.

"Really?" I asked as I lit up at the thought. "The love of your life lives there?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Is he handsome?"

She giggled a little bit and looked away as if she was imagining his face in her mind.

"He was amazingly handsome," she glided her fingers down my hair and then picked up the booklet from her lap.

"I guess I'll let you go," I said, looking down at my hands.

"Just because I'm not going to be living here anymore doesn't mean you have to let me go," she said. "That's why I wanted to give you this booklet to write in." She started flipping through the pages again and touching every single one she passed. "When I'm a thousand miles away from you, you can write on these pages and send me a letter."

"About anything?"

"Absolutely anything you want to tell me. If you're feeling sad, write me a letter. Feel bored? Write me a letter. When you feel lonely?"

"Write you a letter," I finished as she started laughing and poking me gently in the stomach.

"Exactly!" she stated, gently touching my little nose. "Anytime you need someone to talk to or if there's no one at all, you can count on me. I'm only a pen and paper away."

"Will you write back?"

She moved her head back at me, pretending to be surprised, "Me not write back? Impossible." She started getting closer to me and squinting her eyes as she looked at me. "Of course I'll write back."

"Promise?" I questioned as I lifted my left pinky up in the air for her.

"Promise," she said as she linked our little pinkies together. In that moment, with our fingers interlocked, I noticed the smoothness in my pinky and the wrinkles in hers. But I didn't see any age. The only thing I saw was the combination of youth and wisdom.

When I looked up at her, I noticed the warmth of her smile and the twinkle of her eyes. It was as if she was made of magic. I was only seven years old then and I felt like my grandmother was something more than just human. Now that I'm eighteen and about to enter my first year of college, I still thought she was pretty magical.

I was reading the first letter she had written back when I started thinking about our beautiful bond. I had given her a short and simple note. I didn't have the best grammar and spelling at that age, so it wasn't perfect. I wrote something along these words.

Dear Granma Olivea,

I miss you lots. I got another A in cursive. Mama has it on the fridge again. Did you finally see the luv of your life? Is he still hansome? Show me a picture. I don't know what else to write. I love you. Have fun in North Carolina.

Luv,

Haley James.

And she wrote back with a letter telling me about her first week there and also sent a picture.

Dearest Haley,

I am having plenty of fun in North Carolina. I'm actually living in a town called Tree Hill. It's beautiful here, honey. There's more trees and pretty houses here than there is in California, but that's just my opinion. This was where I grew up and I missed it so much. One day you'll visit me and I'll show you my favorite places. I'm happy to hear that you're doing well with your handwriting. I can't wait to see it develop through the years. I'm sure that it will be beautiful just like you. The people here are fantastic and the love of my life is wonderful. He's still handsome. I wish you could meet him. You would probably fall in love with him too. Since you can't meet him, I decided to send you a picture that you asked for. Isn't he lovely? Well, I have to go now. I have a tea party to attend to with one of my best friends here. Remember, I'm only a pen and paper away.

Love you,

Grandma Olivia.

I held the photo of my grandfather in my hands and grazed my finger across his face. It was a picture of his younger days. He was very handsome like my grandmother had said. It's tragic to know that he had died when my mother was only a teenager. I always believed that he was alive because of all the things my grandmother said about him. It must've broken her heart knowing he was never going to be around. I guess living back in North Carolina made her feel closer to him.

I put the letter back into the box where I kept all the rest in and placed it into the suitcase I had packed. I was heading to North Carolina to visit my grandmother for the summer. I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before I left for college. This was going to be the first time I've seen her in eleven years. We wrote each other letters for eleven years. That's a very long time. We never got a chance to see each other in between because of other priorities. But even though we were apart for that long, we knew everything about each other. It was like she never left.

"Hey Haley," I turned to my door and found my mother peeking through. "Remember to get the sugar and icing from the market today." I nodded and then she disappeared from my room. I secured the box into the suitcase and zipped it up. I grabbed my little shoulder bag and headed downstairs.

I passed the kitchen where my mother was preparing to bake cookies.. She was pouring some of the chocolate kisses into a glass bowl and I snatched a palm full.

"Thanks mom," I smiled, kissing her on the cheek and started towards the kitchen that led towards the driveway.

"Wait a second, missy."' I halted, putting two morsels of chocolate into my mouth and turned to my mother.

"Did you get the letter your grandmother sent you?" she asked, as she reached over to grab the bag full of white chocolate kisses from the counter.

I stepped away from the door and looked at her confused, "Uh yeah, I got it Wednesday."

"No, she sent you another one," she stated as she cut the bag open. "It's over by the coffeemaker, I thought you saw it." She nodded towards the pile of letters to her side.

"Already?" I questioned. My mom just shrugged her shoulders as she started pouring the white chocolate into the bowl with the milk chocolate.

I walked over to grab the envelope that said my name and put a few more chocolates in my mouth.

"Oh, well now I see it," I looked at and carried it in my hand. It felt a little heavy so I started twirling it around. I felt something slide across the envelope. It almost seemed like there was a coin inside. I put the rest of the chocolate kisses into my mouth and opened the letter.

I pulled out a key and unfolded the note inside.

Dear Hales,

I know I already sent you a letter before, but days after I sent it I received last minute news. I have to show up to a gathering at the local Senior Citizen center. I won't be at home when you arrive so I sent you a spare key to my house. One of my good friends will be picking you up at the airport. Don't worry I'll be there later in the evening. I can't wait to see you my darling.

Always,

Grandmother Olivia.

I licked my lips and put the letter down. I held the spare key in my hand and noticed the beautiful shape of it. It was different and almost Victorian-like. It almost looked like a clover.

"She sent me a key to her house," I stated.

"What did the letter say?" my mother asked as I turned around.

"She said she'll be at some gathering when I arrive so her friend is going to pick me up at the airport," I walked up to her and showed her the key that I received. "It's a spare to her house."

My mother looked at it and started analyzing the design. "She's living in the same house we used to live in when I was younger. I can't believe it," she smiled.

"Really? That's awesome," I stated as I glanced at the key one more time.

I told my mom about our promise to send letters to each other whenever we could. I would tell her the simple stuff about Grandma Olivia, but I wouldn't tell her everything. It was for our eyes only.

"Well I'm headed out again," I leaned over to kiss my beautiful mother on the cheek and attempted to grab another handful of chocolate, but my mother slapped me before I could.

I stuck my tongue out at her and headed out to the market.

When I arrived, I grabbed a small basket by the entrance and greeted few of the familiar workers that I knew. I walked past the 'Snacks and Chips' aisle and spotted Aaron Armstrong adding new chip bags on the shelf.

Unfortunately the boy that broke my heart in elementary school eventually became my future boyfriend in high school. We only dated for a few months until I decided to break up with him. He was oblivious the whole time and didn't care about me. He didn't realize that he was the one who ripped my Valentines card that year. He was an ass then and he is still an ass now.

As I started walking down the market to find the baking aisle, I heard a voice. I turned around and found Aaron calling out my name. He was wearing a red polo shirt that had the name of the market on his left breast pocket and carried one of those price guns. I groaned when I noticed him walking over.

"What are you doing?" he asked. I slowly turned on my heel and said, "I'm grabbing a few things."

I began walking down the 'Cakes and Cookies' aisle and found the packs of sugar. He followed as he started putting prices on random packs of cookies.

"So what are your plans for the summer?" he asked as I put the pack of sugar in my basket and continued to walk.

"I'm going to visit my grandmother in North Carolina." I scanned the containers of icing and found the French vanilla flavored one.

"North Carolina? That's far away," he stated, still following me. I looked away from the icing and glanced at him up and down.

"Yeah, it's pretty far. I'll be there all summer." Thankfully.

"You're not spending any time here?" he questioned as he noticed one of his coworkers watching him. He quickly grabbed one of the icings and started pointed the price gun to it.

"Nope, but I'll be back the two weeks before I leave for Stanford," I turned around to grab the one I wanted and placed it in the basket.

"Oh."

He's been begging for me to take him back ever since I broke up with him. I am not planning on giving him another chance. Other than him being an ass to me, he wasn't the guy that I wanted to be with anyways.

As he stood there, I walked around him and started towards the register. He quickly followed me to one of the lines and asked, "I was just wondering. Before you leave, do you want to catch lunch or something?"

I laughed a little and stepped forward as the line shortened. "Aaron, I'm leaving when I get home today. I can't do anything else. But it's sweet of you for asking," I smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"I guess I'll see you. . .?"

"Sometime in the future," I finished as he just stood there like a stalker. "Okay byeeeee," I said mockingly. And I turned away from him and gave my stuff to the cashier. I felt him slowly backing away and I was feeling a bit awkward. Then I heard his manager yell at him to get back to work.

"He is definitely not over you," Lisa, the bagger at the register next to me, stated. We had a few classes together in high school and had a few mutual friends. We weren't really good friends, but we knew each other.

"Obviously," I stated as I pulled out my wallet.

"So you're going to North Carolina?" she asked, putting a few cans into plastic bags. I slowly pulled out a twenty when I gave her a look.

"I overheard you guys talking when I passed by."

"Oh, well yeah," I paid for my items and looked back over at her. "My grandmother lives there,"

"That's great. At least you won't be stuck here like me. I'm going to be working all summer to pay for my first semester," she started adding bags into the customer's cart. I grabbed my bag of items and stood to the side to continue our little conversation.

"That stinks. Hopefully you'll get enough money for that," I smiled.

"Let's hope so," she replied.

"K, well nice talking to you Lisa. I really have to head out. I have a plane to catch later," I stated.

"Alrighty. Have fun in North Carolina!"

"Thanks. Have a good summer," I replied and then I headed out, leaving one last glance at Aaron who was now shooting prices on the cheap flowers across the room. I chuckled to myself and drove back home.

When I came home, my mother finished baking the cookies she promised me while I was upstairs adding a few more things to my luggage. I had to have two months worth of clothes and underwear in there. I was practically moving out and living with my grandmother.

My daddy finally came home from work to bring me to the airport. My mother packed the cookie sandwiches with icing filling into two bags so that I could eat it on the plane ride there. When we finally arrived to the airport, we exchanged our goodbyes. My mother held onto me so tightly that I needed access to breathe. She really didn't want to let me go for the whole summer, but I really wanted to be with my grandma. My dad was the same way. He gave me his biggest bear hug possible. He even lifted me off the floor.

"You better be good, Haley," my mother advised as she caressed my cheek.

"I will, mom," I said as I grabbed the handle of my suitcase. "I'll you call you guys." Then I turned away from them and walked up to the line.

Tell me what you all think? Do you like it? R&R