AN: Hey all! Well, I am a huge Naley and this is the first story that I have ever written about them, so I really hope that I do NH justice. I've read countless fanfics about them the past few years and finally decided to see what it would be like to actually write a story. Please review because I'd love to know what you guys thought about it and maybe it will give me motivation to write more in the future. So, without further ado....

Staggering

He gazed at her from across the room, his head held high and his voice strong. "Forever," he spoke. "That's what I see when I think about us. I think about how amazing you are... how much I love you...how I've never loved anyone this way before...and I how I never want it to end. Mark my words, Haley James...I'm going to marry you one day."

Haley took in a deep breath at his admission, and that's when she finally decided to look up. She gazed into his piercing blue eyes and saw the truth. Haley could clearly see the love that they held for her and, even though she could hear the voices telling her to run, her feet stayed put. And then, a remarkable thing happened. For the first time, Haley James truly opened up her heart to someone. "I love you, too, Nathan Scott."

Haley saw the smile slowly sweep across Nathan's face, his real smile, not just that smirk, okay, sexy smirk, that he seemed to have on most times. He slowly walked over to her and softly placed his hands on both cheeks, wiping any residual tears rolling down her face. Then, he swiftly bent his head down and captured her lips in a fiery, all-consuming kiss. Haley had heard stories, read some comments scribbled in the girls' bathroom about how a kiss from Nathan Scott could take a girl's breath away, but she never truly understood what it meant until now. And, she just knew, like he did, that it was never like it was with anyone else.

When breathing became a necessity, they broke apart, her eyes still closed as he gently continued to peck her lips. Haley rested her forehead against his and slowly opened her eyes. Nathan marvelled at the beauty that he saw staring back at him. He really was a sucker for brown eyes, or maybe, just a sucker for Haley James's eyes.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Hales. I just, I freaked out. I'm not used to this type of thing, you know, someone actually sticking around, taking care of me. I just, I saw that tattoo on your back and I thought, 'Wow, she actually wants this. This isn't just some stupid high school fling, something that she'll forget about when she goes away to college and becomes something incredible, while I'm sitting around thinking about how I lost the best thing that ever happened to me.' I just, I got scared, I guess. I've wanted to tell you for so long that, well, that I love you, but I was just afraid that I'd scare you away, you know. Or that, if I did, and you felt the same way, that the day would come when you would wake up and realize how much better off you are without me."

Haley stared at him awestruck for a few seconds, confused that he could ever even think that way. Couldn't he see how amazing he was? "Nathan," she began, but stopped when she saw him averting his eyes to the side of her. She propped his chin up gently with one finger. "Nathan, look at me. There is never going to be a day when I think that I'm better off without you. On the contrary, I've been afraid that you'd come to realize that you wanted someone else...someone who was more beautiful, someone wilder, or, well, frankly, someone who could give you what you want..."

"Haley, you know that's not what this is about. You are everything that I could ever want," Nathan stated with such conviction that there was no way that she could deny it. "I know, Nathan, I know now. I was just scared, I guess, just like you were. But, now....now, I'm not scared anymore. I love you, Nathan, and I know that you love me, too. Maybe we're too young to feel this way now, maybe people will think that we're rushing things, but, I know one thing: I will never stop loving you Nathan Scott."

Nathan didn't think that he'd ever heard anything so beautiful, so powerful. He couldn't resist as he swooped in again to kiss her, and she certainly wasn't hesitant. They continued to kiss until Nathan gently pulled back. Haley whimpered slightly at the loss of contact and Nathan swore his heart beat faster than it had ever before at that.

"Why'd you stop?" Haley asked in a petulant voice. Nathan looked down at her pouting face and a child-like smile graced his features. "What?" Haley nervously asked, "is there something on my face?' "No," Nathan replied. "Then what is it?" she demanded. "Nothing, it's just...I just really love you, Haley James." And then, the pout on her face was replaced by a beautiful smile and, as they stared into each other's eyes, they both saw the purest of loves and the promise of a future together.

But what neither knew then was that this bond was more than they could have ever imagined. With its beauty, depth, and unwillingness to ever break, it would come to be the most staggering love that this town had ever seen.