Hey all! I know I've been a horrible, horrible, no, good, very bad writer, and haven't updated in like a millennia and I'm so very very sorry. Thank you all for being so patient with me. I love your feedback and you. It keeps me going even when I get unbearably stuck.And since it has been so long here's a re-cap.

Re-cap: Everybody boogie'd down at the beach and had crazy amounts of fun. Jake couldn't make a fire, and Brooke found out about Haley and Nathan's blossoming relationship. Nathan also got a new apartment and surprised Haley by showing it to her. She got scared when there was mention of the bedroom, still unsure of Nathan's feelings for her, when he went and surprised her again that day by saying that he loved her (awww!). She said it back and then they kissed like rock stars.

TOXIC

Chapter 31

Before Sunrise

The only light inside Nathan's apartment was the soft blue glow of the television screen as it shined out at the couple on the couch. It had only been a few hours since Nathan had told her he loved her, only few a hours since she had it back to him as well. And yet despite the time that passed, she could still feel her heart thumping inside her chest when she remembered how the words sounded in his mouth.

The night wasn't what anyone would cal remarkable. Nothing special was planned or done. There wasn't any red roses or candlelight dinners, or crazy parties. It was just the two of them alone together. And for the first time in months, since Nathan kissed her on that beach and told her loved her, she found she was happy. The real kind of happy, the kind that burrows deep inside of you and stays there.

She wanted to ask Nathan he felt it too, the same inner warmth, that makes you feel safe and cared for, but she didn't have to. She could see it in the way he sat with her on his couch and watched t.v., his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his body forcing itself to keep put despite the restlessness she knew he was feeling. It was the little things he did, that let her know how he felt. She would always prefer his soft kisses to an expensive dinner, his sweet words to a bouquet of roses, his abiding patience to an empty promise.

As the credits began to roll on the movie they'd been watching, Haley glanced down at the clock on Nathan's DVD player to see that it was late. She should probably be getting home soon. Only problem was, she didn't want to wake him up. She couldn't blame him for falling asleep really. When choosing movies, he'd been the one to let her decide, and so she'd chosen something a little less action filled and a little more girly than he would have preferred. About half way in, when she came back from using the bathroom, there he was, head and arms hung back over the couch, his mouth slightly open and his eyes shut as he breathed in and out heavily. She thought about waking him at the time, but ultimately decided against it, and instead snuggled up into the crook of his arm where she finished out the movie in silence.

It was getting rather late now though, and she wanted to get home before daylight. How to wake him was the question though. He really did look awfully cute when he was asleep, and to ruin that just felt like such a shame. She didn't want to spend the rest of the night on the couch however, and so with her mind made up, she sat up beside him and brought her hands forward on his side. She brushed lightly at his stomach, nudging him softly.

"Nathan.....Nathan......wakey, wakey," she purred into his ear. He stayed completely motionless, his breathing still and even. With a long sigh, she leaned further forward, closer to his face, her hands creeping under his T-shirt to the bare flesh that lay there. She began tickling him ever so lightly, just a feathers touch.

"Nathan Scott it's time to get up," she sang to him, but he still didn't move. She didn't want to scream at him, but he obviously wasn't coming out of dreamland any time soon. Drastic measures needed to be taken.

Scooting as close as she could to his body, she tilted her head to the side so that it was diagonal with his. She leaned down over his neck, searching for that soft spot she remembered that he would hardly ever let her touch. The one that drove him crazy and made him moan like wild dog. Once she found the spot she was looking for, she edged her body over his and brought out her tongue. She then proceeded to trail it down across his throat as slowly as possible.

Within seconds she felt his body jerk up underneath her, and so she pulled away quickly, retreating to the other side of the couch.

"What? What's going on," Nathan rubbed at his sleepy eyes as he tried to look around dazed and confused, his hair rumpled and sexy. Haley stifled a laugh at his appearance, and tried to act casual.

"The movie's over," she stated simply, resting her arm on the arm rest at her end of the couch.

"What did I miss," he asked, more awake this time, but still dazed from his jolt back into the real world.

"Nothing much," she shrugged. "Just the whole movie."

Nathan curled his mouth into a grin, and ran a hand over his face and into his hair to smooth it out. When he noticed Haley's scowl from across the couch he knew he'd made a mistake by falling asleep. Time for apologies, he figured, and started to crawl down the couch to her. "I'm sorry baby....I am. But it was boring. I couldn't help it."

She feigned hurt, "The Bridges of Madison County, is not boring Nathan. It's a classic. And you'd know that, if you'd kept your eyes open past the beginning credits."


He flopped down in front of her, his head coming to rest on her legs. "I'm sorry, I thought it was boring ok? If it doesn't involve sports I get bored. What can I say?" He grumbled and started to pull her body toward his. She tried to resist him by not moving as he wished, and so he pouted up at her.

"What about me, I'm not sports. Do you get bored with me?"

He knew she was just trying to challenge him because she was annoyed that he didn't like her silly romantic/tragedy/ love story. She wanted to see him squirm. It was part of the reason they got along so well with each other when they weren't fighting. She would get irritated with him, and force him to look at things from another perspective. He would of course, and then realize she was right and she would be happy. And when she was happy, he was happy. Everything worked out.

He could see now was going to be another one of those times. So instead of fighting it, when he was already this tired and off his game, he was just going to give in. He pulled her closer to him, until she was sort of half laying half sitting on his lap."No I don't get bored with you. And you want to know why? Because you're not a movie, you're my girlfriend."

"Whatever. It's a good movie Nathan. You would've liked it," she muttered, her body still rigid against his.

Nathan rolled his eyes, heaved out a heavy sigh and then brought his hands up to her face, directing it toward him. "Ok, what if I promise to watch it with you again? Will that make it better?" He questioned her, his eyes big and pleading even in the semi-darkness of the room.

Haley couldn't stand saying no to him when he gave her that look. So cute and puppy like, she loved having this kind of control over him. Loved being able to make him do things he wouldn't for others. And seeing as she wasn't really all that upset to begin with, it wouldn't be that big of deal to just let it go. More than likely she wouldn't even make him watch the stupid movie again anyway, but it was the principal that mattered.

"I guess I can let you slide this one time," she teased, relaxing into his lap, and bringing her arm up around his neck.

"Oh yeah," he leaned his head down to connect with her lips, his voice hot against her cheek.

"Yeah," she answered, before he crushed his lips to hers. The kiss quickly becoming heated.

Nathan didn't wait long before he stuck his tongue out a little asking for entrance, and she readily replied but letting him, all the while their bodies meshed together tightly.

Soon Haley could feel her body heat start to rise. She could sense that this simple kiss was turning into more than she had bargained for, and so she forced herself to breathlessly pull away.

"I should really go home," she said through heavy breaths, her forehead pressed up against Nathan's.

He sat quite for a moment, catching his own breath, and trying to regain some semblance of thought other than: Haley. Mouth. Tongue.

His eyes fluttered shut as he held her securely in his arms, and tried not to concentrate too much on that fact that her thigh was rubbing up against his crotch in the most uncomfortable, (or depending how you look at it, comfortable) way.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah, yeah ok," he answered out quickly, slowly getting his bearings back, despite every other cell in his body telling him not too.

He moved to get up off the couch and away from the temptation, but saw Haley reluctant to follow. He gave her a 'what' look, and she sort of shrugged, her expression almost frustrated.

"I don't want to go," she confessed, but he could tell she was a little torn about the decision. He, however, was not.

"Then don't go," he sat down beside her, grabbing her hand and lacing it with his.

"But what if–."

"What if Brooke and Peyton wake up and your not there and they freak out and have to do something without you for once? What if your mom calls and you don't pick up? What if the sky falls and we all die tomorrow? Who cares Haley? It doesn't matter. If you want to stay, then stay. You know I want you to."

She smiled at his words, her thumb strumming softly on top of his thumb, the heat of his body and the smell that's just so distinctly him, slowly lulling her into his arms.

"You want me to stay," she asked, and couldn't help the girly giggle that escaped her mouth, when he bent his neck down and nipped at her neck.

"You know I do," he whispered hot and husky into her ear. His hand letting go of hers, coming up around her back, pulling her completely on top of him on the couch.

In that second she decided to let all of her worries from before and earlier in the day, float out of her mind as his hands danced around her body, touching the uncovered flesh of her arms and where her shirt road up on her back.

She pushed up farther on him and began trailing kisses up and down his neck. She could hear soft indistinct moans as he rubbed his face against her shoulder. The room became suddenly unbearably hot as his hands traveled farther and farther up her back, down around her stomach, and then over her breasts.

When she finished kissing his neck, she brought one hand up to direct his face to hers. His tongue instantly found her mouth, his lips softly and slippery. He grabbed a hold of her waist and yanked her farther on top of him as he leaned into the corner of the couch, the remote control digging into his side.

"Haley," he breathed, once he moved away from her mouth and began sucking at her bare collarbone.

"Nathan," she breathed back at him, her eyes closed at all the wonderful sensations she was feeling, all the things he was causing her to feel.

"Haley," he spoke again, his voice more disgruntled this time than the first, his body trying to arch up off the couch and away from the blasted remote that was continuing to jab into his spine.

"What," she looked at him as he began to stand up, his hands refusing to release hold on her body, or on her at all.

"Lets go to the bedroom," he said, his eyes heavy, and his lips curved into a sexy grin. And all Haley could do, her heart still thumping in her chest, was smile back and nod.