Sorry for the long wait. I hit a wall with this story for a while, but now I'm ready to continue. Thanks again for all the support, you'll never understand the immensity of my appreciation. Anyway, this chapter is short, but much needed in order to continue. Hope you enjoy.
"For the last time, please stop calling me!" Haley huffed with agitation before slamming her phone down again.
Since the wrap party two nights ago, her phone had been ringing non stop. Apparently someone had released the photo's of her and Nathan kissing and the media had exploded with a response.
Like most celebrity "breaking news" stories, it had spun into a million different directions. Of course, most people had not known that Haley and her boyfriend had broken up, and so she was quickly deemed as a slut.
But then there were the fans who had been praying for something like this to happen, and could barely contain their excitement over the fact that "Naley" may be a real thing.
Then there were the cynics who claimed that the kiss was all just a way for the movie to gain more press.
At this point, Haley didn't even know what to think. She was so caught up in the moment, and was no where near expecting this to go worldwide. The picture had over 8 million views on twitter, and #Naley was trending for over 24 hours.
It's not like she regretted the kiss, because she didn't. She just wished that someone hadn't captured it in picture. Her and Nathan… well she didn't really know where they stood at this point. She loved him, and he loved her, but now there was no way they'd be able to have a "normal" relationship. She wasn't sure where they stood at this point. Now that the movie was over, she couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen with them- especially now that the media was involved.
Before her thoughts could delve any deeper into the dark despairs of her mind, a knock on the door shook Haley from her frazzled state.
Slowly creeping over to the front door, her stomach twisted with anger. Why couldn't the damn paparazzi leave her alone?"
"Go away! I don't want to talk to you!" She screamed from behind the closed door.
"Hales?" She heard the familiar voice, sending chills down her spine. God, she missed him, and hadn't seen him since the night of the party. "Are you okay?"
Swinging open the door, her anger quickly dissipated when she saw his glistening blue eyes which were shielded with worry.
Haley flung herself into Nathan's arms, and quickly dragged him inside before the paparazzi would capture anything else.
"I'm so glad you're here." She cried into his chest as Nathan ran a soothing hand through her hair.
"Haley, I was so worried about you. I tried calling you. Are you mad at me-?""
Haley lifted her head from his chest and looked longingly into his eyes as she wiped her thumb across his cheek, "Gosh, no, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry, it's just, the paparazzi have been driving me crazy…"
Nathan sighed as he ran his hand over his tired face, "They got to you too?"
"Yeah," she spoke softly. "I-I don't know what to do."
"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I had no idea someone was going to take our picture-"
Haley shook her head as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, then pressed a gentle kiss upon his lips, "No, don't be sorry, Nathan. I-I don't regret that kiss for a second." She revealed shyly, as her cheeks twinged a light pink.
Nathan smiled as he cupped her blushing cheeks, "Good, because I don't regret it either. I meant what I said, Haley James." His eyes bore directly through hers, to the point where she swore he could see her soul. "I love you. No matter what happens, I'm always going to love you."
Biting gently on her lower lip, Haley sucked in a deep breath in order to quell the tears threatening to fall from her glazing brown eyes. "I love you, too." She whispered softly.
Ever so slowly, Nathan swooped down and pressed a gentle yet passionate kiss against her lips. The electricity charged in the air around them; though they were used to kissing each other on set, no kiss had ever held the meaning that this one had.
Haley could feel the soothing effects that Nathan's lips had upon hers. A shock was sent straight through her heart, yet she was flushed with a wave of calmness. Nathan always held that effect on her.
Breaking the kiss for much needed air, Haley inhaled strongly as Nathan's forehead rested against hers. "So what does this mean for us, now?" She whispered shakily.
Nathan lowered his hand that was resting against her backside and connected their fingers together. "Look, I love you, and you love me right?"
Haley nodded vehemently.
"I don't know what is going to happen, but I do know that I love you and I want to be with you-"
"I want to be with you, too, but it's just not that simple-" Haley interrupted.
Nathan silenced her with yet another kiss. "I know that you and Wyatt just broke up, and the Paparazzi are overbearing, and that the movie ended, but you know what? It doesn't matter. Let's just take it day by day and in time everything will work out."
"But-"
"I know you like to have everything figured out," Nathan smirked, "But maybe we should just… let everything work itself out. I just want to spend time with you and take you out on dates and show the world that a guy like me is capable of getting a girl like you."
Haley smiled despite the tear that trickled down her cheek.
"You're the most amazing woman I have ever known." Nathan continued, bringing his thumb up to her cheek and softly wiping it away with the pad of his thumb. "Your goodness is staggering, your heart is so full of compassion, and you're absolutely beautiful. I love the way you laugh, I love how you can light up any room with just your smile, and I love the way you make me feel. No one has ever made me feel the way you do. I can't breathe when I look at you, and my heart nearly explodes every time we kiss. These past few months working with you have nearly killed me. I hated not being able to have you. Every time we kissed on screen, I just… I wanted it to be real, and now that I can have you, I never want to let go of you, ever."
Haley's heart ignited with a fire at the sound of his beautiful words. "God, I love you so much." She cried, before jumping up and meeting him for a fiery kiss which sent them both to Heaven.
Nathan lifted her into his arms, as her legs instantly wrapped around his lower half, and he carried her over to the couch, gently laying her down on her back, not once breaking the contact of their kissing lips.
Struggling for air, Haley reluctantly pulled away and caught Nathan by surprise when she began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" He asked self consciously as he hovered above her.
"It's just… we used to hate each other, and now we're in love."
Nathan smirked, "Baby, I never hated you. You just caught me so off guard, and you drove me crazy, but underneath it all, I had no idea how to act around you. I'd never been around someone so damn sexy. Plus, you were so feisty, it just riled me up even more."
Haley giggled as she wound her arms around his neck, bringing his face closer to hers, "Well you drove me crazy, too. Seriously, no one had ever gotten under my skin the way you did, ugh I couldn't stand you."
"Oh yeah?" Nathan's smirk widened, "What changed?"
Haley mirrored his grin, "Who said anything changed?"
"Oh you're gonna get it, Haley James." Nathan chuckled, beginning to tickle her mercilessly, causing her to thrash around in a fit of giggles.
"Na-Nathan! S-stop!" She pleaded, gasping for air.
Nathan delicately danced his fingers over the creamy skin exposed under her tank top and laughed at her squirming figure. "Say you love me!"
Haley screamed playfully again when he wouldn't stop tickling her. "I-I love y-you!" She attempted to shout through her wheezing breaths.
Nathan gave her a satisfied smirk and pulled his fingers away from her skin. "You better, you dork."
Haley laughed as she sat up and crawled into his lap, pressing a sweet kiss on his stubbled cheek. "Of course I do. I think Mike was right. Falling in love with you was inevitable."
Nathan smiled, "What about Wyatt?"
"Like you said, he doesn't matter anymore. Things were failing between us whether you were in the picture or not. I just needed someone to help me realize that." She spoke seriously.
"What about those nasty rumors people are spreading about you cheating on him?"
Haley sighed, "Let them believe what they want. We know the truth."
"I just hate to watch you go through this." Nathan frowned.
Haley brought her hand over to his face and gently cupped his chin, "Atleast I don't have to go through it alone. I have you."
Nathan's lips stretched into a beaming smile, "You'll always have me."