It took being quarantined for me to have the time to write again- I'm sorry I've been MIA. I haven't had inspiration in a really long time but I miss Naley every day. I really hope to get struck with some new ideas, but for now, this is all I have. I hope you enjoy!

Stay safe and healthy everyone. Thanks for reading.

. . .

Haley James was running out of things to do. She already scrubbed every square inch of her house— every crevice now sparkling without a speck of dust or dirt. She rearranged the utensils in the kitchen drawers, alphabetized her old record collection, and even color-coded her wardrobe.

The state of North Carolina, including the rest of the world, was pretty much on lockdown due to a widespread pandemic. She'd already been out of work for a week; Principal Turner called her and said schools were closed for at least a month. Haley was devastated. She adored her students and missed teaching them in the comfort of her classroom. A week without them, but it felt like a year.

There was only so much she could do to pass the time; only so many books to read before the words start jumbling together like an army of ants crawling across the page; only so many TV shows to binge before growing bored of staring numbly at a screen.

The days were long and the nights lonely. Haley missed her boyfriend more than anything. Nathan was stuck in New York on a stupid business trip and, of course, his flights kept getting cancelled. While she understood the safety precautions, she couldn't help but feel disappointed— all she wanted was to be with him.

Texting and FaceTiming just wasn't the same. He'd been torturing her all morning by sending her selfies of himself in his navy blue business suit. If she could, she'd tear it off of him through the damn screen. As payback, Haley had decided to bake his favorite chocolate chip brownie batter cookies and sent a picture of the tray fresh out of the oven. Within seconds, Nathan was calling her.

"Hi," she greeted with an airy smile in her voice , "I miss you."

"You better save me one of those cookies."

"I can't make any promises," Haley teased.

"What if I told you I'm coming over in 20 minutes?"

Her heart skipped a beat, "what? Seriously?"

She could hear the smirk in his voice, "yep. I rented a car last night. I'm almost in Tree Hill, just gotta make a quick pit-stop."

"I love you," the words were said in a rush of happiness, "I can't wait to see you!"

"It's okay I come over right? Maybe I should be in quarantine since I was in a crowded city-,"

"I don't even care. You get your ass here as soon as possible, Nathan Scott."

He chuckled, "okay. Do you need anything from the store?"

Haley quickly took inventory of her kitchen cupboards. She should be good for another week, "I think I'm good. Just pick up whatever you like because I'm not letting you leave my side."

"Sounds perfect to me," Nathan said, "we have a lot of time to make up for."

She giggled, "yes we do. Now hurry up."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I love you."

"Love you, too, baby. I'll see you soon."

After hanging up, Haley frantically ran to her room to get ready. She hadn't changed out of her pajamas since, well, much longer than she'd like to admit. Plus, her hair was reaching 'rat's nest' phase. She knew Nathan wouldn't care, and she never felt like she needed to look perfect for him, but because they hadn't seen each other in a while, she wanted to look good. Quickly, she changed into a pair of stone washed jeans and a floral tank-top; clothes didn't really matter. If it were up to her, they'd be shed within minutes. She twisted her honey blonde hair into a tight bun before throwing on a fresh coat of mascara. Much better, she beamed at her reflection and wiped her sweaty palms on the denim of her jeans.

She and Nathan had been dating for well over six months but she still got butterflies at the thought of seeing him. They met through mutual friends at a barbecue; Quinn, Haley's sister, was dating Nathan's business parter, Clay. The couple introduced Nathan and Haley, and they'd been together ever since. Haley was immediately smitten with the tall, blue-eyed, dark-haired Adonis. And Nathan couldn't take his eyes off of the petite, warm-eyed, infectiously beaming beauty. He wanted to tell her he loved her, five minutes after they met, but he didn't want to freak her out. Instead, his mouth betrayed him after their second date when she ordered a Whiskey neat and knocked it back in three swigs. The words fell right off his tongue, "I'm in love with you." His eyes clenched, thinking he'd surely scared her off, but she stayed, sitting across from him with the smile that made his heart hammer, "I'm in love with you, too."

A loud knocking on the front door stirred Haley from the warm memory and she couldn't run there fast enough— after nearly tripping over her vacuum, she swung open the door and threw herself into Nathan's arms. He almost dropped the bags he was holding.

"Hi," she muffled into his chest, "thank you for being here."

"There's no place I'd rather be," Nathan pressed a warm kiss to her forehead before walking them both inside. Haley's arms never unwrapped themselves from his body.

"I missed you so much," he said, haphazardly placing the bags from the store onto the coffee table.

"I missed you, too," Haley whispered, then lifted her chin to look him in the eye. He wasted no time in drawing their lips together, kissing her like a bee tasting honey after a winter famish. He couldn't pull away, nor would he want to.

Haley's desire had come true; she pulled Nathan's suit off, and flung the miscellaneous pieces all over her clean apartment. Their bodies landed on the couch, her clothes following his. They met as one; hands intertwining like spools of yarn and lower halves blending seamlessly like perfectly fitting puzzle pieces. They were complete.

Heavy breaths heaved across Haley's house; slow moans rattled the walls; lips caressed sweaty skin until they reached a simultaneous crescendo. Time did not exist any longer. Nathan and Haley were in their own, timeless world, wrapped together as one. They whispered sweet words of love; her head against his hard, naked chest, his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

"Do you think I can have a cookie now?" Nathan asked, causing Haley's chest to heave with laughter.

"Yes, you can even have more than one," she winked.

"Sweet," he smirked and watched as she slowly untangled herself from him to slip on his white button-down shirt. Haley looked so damn good in his clothes that he would gladly burn her closet just so she'd be forced to live in his oversized shirts.

"Damn, you're sexy," his voice was the gravel of a backwoods driveway. Haley felt the heat simmering low in her belly again.

Her eyes raked over his naked body stretched across her couch, "right back at ya, babe."

She practically skipped into the kitchen, retrieving the plate of the freshly baked cookies. If she had known he was coming, she would have made more of his favorite foods.

Back in the living room, Nathan sat up and grinned when Haley returned.

"Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite person in the entire world?" He asked, pulling on his boxers.

Haley feigned shock, "wow, you like me more than Clay?"

He chuckled and popped an entire cookie in his mouth, mumbling his next words, "uh-huh. He can't bake, and he doesn't look nearly as good naked as you do."

Her giggles enveloped him like a blanket, "oh, well thank God for that," she teased.

"You'll always be my girl, Haley James," he pulled her back onto the couch, right where she curled next to him.

Her heart skipped another beat. She never knew it was possible to love another person the way she loved him.

"So, what'd you get at the store?" Haley asked as she curiously eyed the bags he dropped on the coffee table earlier.

"Just some stuff I thought we'd need if we're stuck inside for awhile," he brushed the crumbs away with the back of his hand and leaned forward to start pulling things out of the bags. First, he pulled out a large bag of Haley's favorite candy— dark chocolate Hershey kisses. Next, two bags of their favorite snack— salted caramel popcorn. He also got blue Gatorade for himself, her favorite coffee creamer, a book he thought she'd like to read, a 1,000 piece puzzle, and a few other small things. There was only one bag he didn't open yet, so Haley reached for it and almost gasped. Inside were at least seven boxes of large condoms.

"Nathan!"

"What?" His shrug and smile were full of innocence.

"Why do we need these? You know I'm on the pill, right?"

"Yeah but what if your prescriptions runs out and can't get to a Doctor?"

"I would order more online," she laughed through the explanation, "like I always do."

"I just wanted to be prepared," he shrugged again, "you never know how long this quarantine thing will last."

"Well, thank you, baby. I appreciate it," she kissed his stubble-lined cheek.

"It's not that I don't want to have kids with you," Nathan started, afraid he had offended her, "I want a whole-house full of mini-you's, but I'd like to be married and settled before—,"

"I know," Haley said with a calming smile, "I agree."

"-it's just, I heard someone in the store make a joke about how there will be a baby boom in nine months and-."

"Nathan," Haley cut off his frantic ramble with another laugh, "it's okay, honey. You don't have to explain. I think it's funny, really. But we're good. I have plenty of pills."

"It wouldn't be the worst thing," he said sheepishly, "if we had a baby in nine months."

She squeezed his hand, "it wouldn't be, but we have a few steps I'd like to get to before that one."

He nodded, relieved. "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind being quarantined with you forever."

Haley laughed, "you may be speaking too soon. You've only been here for a few hours. You could change your mind by the time this is over."

"I won't," he said confidently. "In fact, I think we should live together. Officially."

A beaming smile broke her lips, "really?"

"Yes," he grinned, "what do you say, Hales? We bunker together long after the quarantine lasts?"

"Yes!" She shouted gleefully, "yes, yes, yes!"

"In that case," he grinned slowly, "maybe I'll need to buy more condoms."

Haley playfully rolled her eyes, "you're right. We'll tear through these boxes by next week."

And they did.

. . .

The end :p