For the first time in a long time, (three months and a day - but who's counting?) Nathan was feeling like himself again.
Well, almost.
He now had a gaping hole in his heart that was never there before but would forever remain. His chest felt hollower, making it difficult to breathe, but his lips finally remembered how to smile. And, as he looked at himself in his bathroom mirror, Nathan was happy he resembled a human once again.
It took a great deal of effort- more so than he'd ever willingly admit- to shave the bearded forest from his face. It'd be even harder, he knew, to go out tonight, but like always, Chase and Clay had been relentless in their pursuit to drag him out of the house.
Nathan usually had an array of excuses ready to fall from his tongue; babysitting his niece, a ton of work to do, feeling ill- but he'd run out of reasons and finally gave in to their pleading; he just prayed like Hell that she was staying in tonight. He needed one night to clear his mind of all-things Haley James. She'd already overstayed her welcome, occupying every single one of his thoughts- and every space in his heart.
Maybe the guys were right, maybe he needed a distraction. He needed to go out- to loosen up. And a few drinks would definitely do the trick.
Taking one last look at himself in the streaky mirror, Nathan took a deep breath and forced a smirk upon his now visible lips. He was ready as he'd ever be.
. . .
That readiness lasted for all of ten minutes- the time it took for him to drive from his house to the bar, because as soon as he walked in, he found Clay and Chase talking to Haley's friends. Of course Mia and Quinn were there. Dammit, he cursed under his breath. Why did Tree Hill have to be such a small town?
"Hey man, glad you made it!" Clay pulled him in for a quick hug, followed by a gentle slap on his back, while Nathan offered a weak and perfunctory smile to the rest of the group.
"Yeah, it's been a while," Quinn's blue eyes couldn't hide her pity. "How've you been?"
How has he been? Nathan wanted to scoff. He barely left the house except to go to work, he'd been surviving on frozen pizzas and drinking beer as if it were the only liquid left on earth. He barely sleeps and it's a struggle to breathe- but that would be too much to say, so he settled for, "I'm okay. How are you?"
Whatever Quinn said, Nathan didn't hear. His eyes landed on the door at the exact moment Haley walked in. Time slowed- or maybe he was stuck in some type of warped universe. Either way, Haley looked like she'd just emerged from a music video; her honey blonde hair had been curled just past her shoulders, bellowing slightly with the cold November breeze pushing past the open door.
Dressed in a red wine-colored long sleeved dress, she looked as stunning as ever. The pounding in Nathan's chest thundered; he wondered if the booming could be heard over the bass of the bar's country music.
Luckily, she didn't yet see Nathan. As soon as she walked through the entrance, she turned- probably looking for the bathroom- but just the side of her profile had his heart storming. Just like the first time he'd ever seen her- in this bar, no less- she hit him like a hurricane. The damage would never be fixed.
"I, uh, need a drink," he mumbled under his breath, not caring whether his friends heard him or not. There was no way he'd be sober- not if she was here.
It was going to be a long night, Nathan thought, his eyes once again scanning the room for her as he waited impatiently for the bartender to return with his Whiskey on Ice.
He wasted no time bringing the glass to his lips and taking a hearty swig. The cool liquid burned his throat. Nothing felt better. Nathan was about to swallow another sip but stopped before he'd choke; just above the brim of the glass, his eyes locked on Haley's. Her brown gaze was soft and seductive: it was a punch straight to his gut.
He watched, breathless and silent, as she strut right over to him.
"Hi," she whispered.
One word held the power of 65-mile-per-hour wind gusts. Here she was again: Hurricane Haley. Ready to wreck his heart.
And the saddest part was, Nathan Scott would willingly allow it to happen. Again.
"Hi," came his breathy reply.
"It's so good to see you," Haley's hand landed on his bicep, igniting an inferno through his veins. Three months without her touch could do that to a man. Hell, she could start a fire with just her freakin' smile.
"Yeah," Nathan smiled easily; as if the last three months never happened- as if she never said no to marrying him.
"I've, um, missed you."
"Me too," he admitted with a lick of his lips. God, it took everything in him not to kiss her right there. He knew he should put the drink down and just walk out- should've left her there the way she left him. But he couldn't. And he didn't want to.
"What've you been up to?" Her fingers wrapped tighter around his bicep. She always had a thing for his arms.
"Not much, really. Working."
Haley's big doe eyes bore right into his. He was already too far gone to save now. "Look Nathan, I need to apologize to you-,"
"Hales," he shook his head, "let's not do this..."
"Please?" She pleaded. He remained quiet, signaling for her to speak. It was a slippery slope, but the eye of the hurricane was already hovering above him. "I shouldn't have left you like that. I-I was stupid and I was scared. You proposed so quickly and I didn't know what to do. But the truth is, I still love you."
He inhaled a steady breath, practically sipping on the way she smelled- like peaches and honey. Home.
Her hand slipped into his and she gave him that not-so-innocent look; the one where her lips curl to the side of her mouth and the edge of her tongue peeks between teeth. He knew that look a little too well.
Nathan was reminded of how eerily similar this encounter was to the first time they met- they were practically parallels.
He remembered when she walked in with her friends; how her smile wrecked his entire world. How she hit him like a hurricane- that nothing would ever be the same. A hurricane was one of the strongest storms on earth; no force could match it. Except Haley. She was stronger than a storm. She was wind. Rain. Thunder. Lightning.
Everything.
Nathan had no control; he couldn't stop her force. The way she lit up any room in the world; the way she shook his bones; the way she kissed in the rain left him wanting to stand there forever because of the way she felt. Haley was everything. And Nathan would risk it all for one more kiss.
"Do you want to go back to my place?" Her words curled around his ear like a spool of silk.
He dropped the glass against the table, almost shattering it completely in the process and stumbled off the stool.
"I'm not drunk," he promised with a sheepish grin. She giggled as she draped herself on his back while he spun his car keys around his finger, walking out of the bar and to his truck.
Rain was pouring. They were running. And then they were driving to her house; Haley's hand on Nathan's knee. Her lips on his neck- Nathan trying not to crash.
It was all a haze; like the sheet of rain blurring the windshield. Hard to see. Hard to breathe.
Next thing either of them knew, they were falling into bed. Touching. Kissing. Lips Crashing. Breaths Colliding. Bodies joining.
Two storms converging into one brutal hurricane.
. . .
After a storm, there's always a rainbow. And as, much as Haley was Nathan's hurricane, she was also his sun and his moon and the stars. He told her that as her eyes peeled open with the morning light, then pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Good morning," she grinned.
"Mornin'."
Her head was rested against his naked chest, listening to the slow rhythm of his heartbeat.
"I'm glad you're still here," Haley whispered. "I was afraid you'd think last night was a mistake."
"It wasn't."
She picked her head up to study his face; it was an unfinished masterpiece. Too soon to analyze. "I'm sensing a 'but'..."
Nathan smirked as his hands landed on her bum, giving it a firm squeeze. "No. This is the only butt I need."
Haley's eyes rolled playfully, "I'm serious, Nathan. Something's on your mind. Talk to me."
"I just… why didn't you want to marry me, Haley?"
She clenched her eyes shut but kept her hand pressed to his chest. "It's not that I don't- I do- but we'd only been together for a few months. We're still young. I didn't know what I wanted."
He nodded somberly.
"I want to be with you Nathan Scott, I do. I just wasn't ready to be a wife yet."
"Okay," he finally swallowed. "You're right. I asked too soon. I never meant to pressure you-,"
"You didn't, I promise," Haley bent her neck to meet his lips for a gentle kiss. "I was a coward who ran. I shouldn't have. Leaving you was the biggest mistake I've ever made and I've regret it every single day."
He held her closer to his chest. "I love you, Haley James. And I'll wait for you forever if I have to."
She smiled against his lips, "I don't want you to wait."
"Wha-?"
"Let's get married today."
Another gust of her unpredictable wind- but he wouldn't change it for the world.
