It was dark outside but even darker in Nathan's heart. It was supposed to be one of the greatest days of his life but it had turned into a disaster. First Brooke had been so upset and in her defense he had confronted his brother. The meeting had turned ugly and things heated up quickly. Somehow Lucas had found out about Nathan and Haley and it had set him off.

Haley. Nathan shut his eyes. If things had gone as planned, they would have already eaten their dinner and they'd probably be curled up on the couch watching a movie. Thanks to Lucas being such a jerk, none of that would ever happen. Thanks to Nathan trying to be noble and always do the right thing, the night could not be.

Pulling down the visor in his car, the interior light came on and Nathan got a better look at the earlier inflicted damage. It wasn't a very pretty sight. An ugly purple bruise covered the left portion of his forehead and the eye below it was swollen. Blood still trickled from his nose and there was a visible cut on his bottom lip.

So much for a romantic evening. He hadn't made it to the store and the wine bottle was a painful reminder of what was supposed to be. Nathan felt defeated. He just wanted to go home and crawl in bed. He had a good mind to do exactly that but something inside made him detour. Just like earlier in the afternoon, the car seemed to have a mind of its own as it bypassed the direction of the Lee residence. Instead, Nathan found himself sitting in the parking lot of Haley's apartment building.

He sat there for hours. It was hard to move. He had no idea what to do. The seconds trickled away into minutes into hours. The night wasn't getting any younger and neither was he. Nathan Lee had been screwing up his chances with Haley ever since he could remember. It always made him sad but not that night. Suddenly, he was mad. With everything else that had happened, what else did he stand to lose? Grabbing the wine, he sprinted up to Haley's door and knocked on it.

Inside Haley had enjoyed a late dinner and spent the remainder of the evening with her nose buried in a novel. After changing into pajamas and a matching tank top, she put her hair in a bun and washed her face, preparing to turn in for the night. A puzzled look appeared across her face when she heard a knock at her front door. It was late and she wasn't expecting any company. Looking through the peephole she was surprised to see Nathan.

"Hi", she said as she opened the door. "What a surprise."

"Hey, Hales", he turned to face her completely.

For the first time she got a good look at his battered face.

"Oh my God! Nathan, come in. What happened to you? Who did this to your face?"

Nathan walked in.

"I was in a fight."

"I can see that."

She ushered him over to the couch where she joined him with band aids and a bottle of peroxide. Immediately she began tending to him. Nathan flinched several times even though her touch was tender.

"Ouch…"

"Sorry", she apologized. "Listen, maybe you should see a doctor or somebody…"

"It's not that bad, Hales."

She finished cleaning him up.

"What's that for?" she motioned towards the wine.

Nathan shrugged.

"I got it for you. Us, I mean."

"What?"

"I was supposed to come over earlier and cook dinner for you. We were going to eat, rent movies, then dance."

"Oh my God. Nathan, what are you talking about?"

"I had it all mapped out. We both had today off and I wanted to spend some time together. I wanted to do something special for you. I wanted it to be nice. So I was on my way over here today but…"

"But what?"

"Something came up. Brooke called me. She and Lucas had a fight. I guess he was really rude to her because she sounded pretty upset. Anyway, I just couldn't let it go. So I drove down to the River Court to talk to him about it."

"And?"

"What do you think? It's Luke we're talking about here. You know how he is. Things heated up and we just went at it."

Haley closed her eyes.

"Is Lucas alright?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to be alright?"

"Yeah."

She put her head in her hands.

"What now?"

Nathan shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Haley felt her whole body begin to tremble. A flood of fresh tears rushed to her eyes and began to spill down her face. Within mere seconds, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Oh Nathan…"

"Hales", he touched her arm. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"You, you were really on your way over here to…to cook? For me?"

"Yes."

She shook her head.

"You son of a bitch!" she whispered.

"What?" Nathan asked in disbelief.

"Get out!"

"Haley…"

"You heard me! Dammitt, I mean it!"

"I don't get it. Why are you so pissed?"

She wiped her nose.

"Why were you coming over?"

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to hang out."

"Why?"

"Because I do. Because I like you."

"Let me get this straight…this was like a date?'

"Kind of."

"And Lucas ruined it?"

"Damn, Hales. I sort of got preoccupied when we were beating the crap out of each other."

"Leave!"

"Haley…"

"No, Nathan!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because you had a crush on me when we were kids and you were too chicken to say anything! Because we had a chance, a real chance to have a really romantic day and you let him ruin that, too! Don't you see, Nathan? It's always about him!"

"Hales…"

"No!" she cried. "This is all your fault! You let me marry him when you knew it was all wrong! All along you knew it should have been you! You let him ruin my life, our lives! Just like you let him ruin today!"

"Haley…" he started towards her.

She balled up her tiny hands into mighty fists that pounded away at his chest and arms.

"You let this happen! All of it! Why, Nate? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me how you felt years ago?"

"I…I don't know. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough, not this time!"

She hit him harder, yelling at the top of her lungs. Nathan struggled to restrain her arms. Finally, she stopped, collapsing into a tearful heap on the floor where he fell beside her.

"I was afraid."

"What?" she asked.

"I was scared out of my mind, Hales. I'm still scared. Scared of really needing and wanting someone else. Scared of rejection and being disappointed…scared of losing you."

He was quietly pouring out his heart to her, revealing an intimate honesty he'd never dared to share with anyone before. Nathan let out a nervous breath before turning to look her in the eyes.

"What a crock of shit!"

Nathan's baby blues widened.

"Huh?"

She slapped his face.

"You're a coward!"

"Hales!"

"Just shut up", she shoved him hard.

"Ouch! Damn, Haley! Stop hitting me!"

Who knew something that little could be so strong?

"What do you want from me?"

Nathan swallowed hard, his heart still pounding.

"You, Hales. I just want you."

She looked around, breath ragged, hair messily falling out of place. He reached out to comfort her but she recoiled from his touch, violently pushing him away. Nathan grabbed her arm and their eyes met. He did the only thing he knew how. He leaned in and kissed her. Haley pushed away and looked at him. A million thoughts raced through her mind but instinct alone made her cup his face and kiss him again. Their lips crashed into each other. Her tongue snaked its way into his impatient mouth and their bodies entangled. They kissed rough, hard and passionately. His mouth grazed her cheeks, neck and shoulders, his teeth hungrily nipping away at every inch of exposed young flesh. Haley moaned and helped him with the shirt his toned muscles practically exploded out of.

Nathan wanted her badly and the feeling was apparently more than mutual. As her legs wrapped around his waist, he wanted nothing more than to get her to the bedroom but with one swift motion, she had unbuckled his belt and pulled down his pants. They jumbled at his ankles, making movement difficult. She could feel his hardness pressing against her middle and the clothing presented an annoying barrier. She needed him inside her and he was happy to comply. There was barely enough time for him to enjoy the view and the taste as the rest of her clothes were peeled off, giving Nathan full access to her ample breasts, firm bottom and the neatly trimmed triangle of hair between her legs. When his boxer shorts were no longer an obstacle, two anxious and sweaty bodies became one.

Nathan grunted as he moved inside her. It was a more rugged style of physical intimacy than he was used to and he had always imagined Haley as one of those shy, demure and traditional girls in bed. But her low growling in his ear, nails raking against his back and the way she maneuvered her taunt body to meet and match each of his powerful thrusts, told a very different story. Not that he didn't love it…sex with Haley was a wonderful and unexpected pleasure, it was just when he fantasized over and over about what it would be like, he'd pictured flowers and candlelight preceding gentle lovemaking on a nice, warm bed. As she bucked in his arms and sucked greedily on his neck, Nathan groaned. Nothing ever seemed to turn out quite the way it was planned. At least not in Tree Hill.

"Are you okay?" she asked finally after many minutes of silence.

The pair had enjoyed a climactic , simultaneous release that had left their writing bodies tingling and their exhausted minds void of all thought process and comprehension. Neither had known how to react in front of the other afterwards so without conversation, they had managed to wrap a blanket over their flush selves that still remained entangled on the sofa.

"I'm good", Nathan tried to breathe, answering her question.

"You don't say", Haley joked, resting her head on his sweat dampened chest. "That was freaking amazing!"

"Yeah", he agreed.

"Nathan, I…I'm sorry about earlier, hitting you and all. That was wrong. I guess I went a little bonkers."

He chuckled.

"You're pretty strong, you know that? I'm gonna start calling you Baby Tyson or something."

"Nate", she laughed.

"Seriously, Hales. Maybe I deserved it."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did. All that stuff you said made a lot of sense. My whole life I've tried to be honest and brave but at the same time when it mattered the most, I just couldn't make it work. Every day I think how different it could have been, how happy we might be if I'd just told you how I felt. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through all the bad stuff. I'm sorry about Luke. I'm sorry about everything."

She took a deep breath and he held her tight.

"What happens now? I mean, where do we go from here? This, what we just did, changes everything."

"Yeah…it does. For the better I hope."

"Nathan…"

"I missed out once before with you because of fear but I'm not afraid anymore. You're my whole world and I want us to be together. So here it is…I love you, Haley."

She looked up into the most beautiful, emotional blue eyes of the special young man who had been her best friend ever since she could remember. They had shared so much over the years and the sacred friendship had bonded them forever. She loved and respected him and at that very moment lying naked in his strong arms, it hit her like a ton of bricks. All doubt removed, Haley knew she was with her soul mate. She could and did not want to live without him ever again. What they had just done had been simply magical and she never wanted that feeling to end. Ever.

"I love you, too, Nathan", she smiled, kissing him again.

And there it was. Nathan Lee and Haley James Scott making love, declaring their love. It was sheer perfection…and a lifetime in the making.