I've been wanting to write a songfic for forever but haven't found anything I wanted for 'naley' - and then I remembered my favorite song ever and being shocked that I hadn't ever pictured it with Naley.
This one is based on 'All Too Well' by Taylor Swift (obviously, because she's my inspiration 99% of the time). Anyway, it was so fun to write and it basically wrote itself. A lot of the images are direct details from her song, so obviously she deserves all the credit. This was just my version/translation for naley. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Please leave a comment if you have any song recommendations. I'm always looking for new ones! Thank you.
. . .
When their eyes met again— the first time in nearly a year— she remembered it all: the hello, the goodbye, and everything in between. When her warm brown met his blue gaze armored by a windshield, their three year story unfolded right there on that very same street where he had first told her he loved her. It's as if someone opened their story and all the pages ripped from the binding and spilled out onto the road.
In that second, Haley James saw it all unfold. Every flashback, now a snapshot, like she was living it all over again. His eyes said it, too. He remembered it just as well.
Nathan Scott first took Haley to his hometown in Tree Hill, North Carolina, during their fourth month of dating. They'd met through mutual friends while both living and working in Charlotte, instantly hitting it off at a party, where they had climbed to the rooftop and talked until well after the last guest had left. One dinner turned into ten, and then she started spending the night. Nathan hated the mornings when she wasn't waking up beside him. He couldn't wait to introduce her to his family. So, one chilly November morning, they climbed into his car and drove the three hour route to his little town tucked in the pocket of the Carolina coast.
They first stopped at his aunt's cafe, on the corner of Grace Street. He held the door for Haley, watching as her smile stretched and eyes sparkled. She said it felt like home somehow. And it did. Haley fell in love with the quaint cafe that smelled like fresh coffee and antique books. They spent the entire afternoon there, talking to Nathan's Aunt Karen, and sharing a chocolate milkshake as if they were two teenagers in a sixties sitcom. When they left, hand-in-hand, he stopped her right outside the cafe, beneath the sign of Grace Street, pulled her yellow scarf away from her face and kissed her. Nathan looked into Haley's eyes and said he'd loved her. They kissed again, unaware of the rain now, and smiled. 'I love you, too,' she had said.
Later that night, Nathan unraveled Haley's scarf again as they sat with their arms and hands entwined on his cousin Lucas' couch. Haley unknowingly left it there by mistake, too enchanted with the stories about her boyfriend's rebellious teenage years to remember where it had fallen — until it was too late. She was sure Nathan still had it somewhere, hidden in the back of his drawer, because it reminded him of her innocence, and the day they confessed their love for one another.
It was that same weekend that they had driven up the coast of North Carolina, purposely getting lost as they sang off key to their favorite Beatles song. Haley remembered the way her cheeks hurt from smiling the entire drive. She remembered how his calloused hand wrapped around hers, savoring the feeling of how perfectly they fit together— similar to the autumn leaves falling like pieces in their place. She never wanted it to end.
Nathan remembered that drive; not because of how beautiful the trees looked, shedding their multi-colored leaves, but because he was sure he'd never find a light as bright as Haley James. Innocence magnified her wide eyed, childlike gaze. She gushed about how much she loved the fall. He decided it was his favorite season, too, simply because of the memories they shared that day. Haley kissed his stubble-lined cheek, never once losing her smile. It was one of her favorite days. She loved the simplicity of it, yet somehow, it still felt like there was magic in the air.
She can still picture it, even after all these days. And, though it's long gone, and that magic had since disappeared, she tells everyone she's okay. But, the truth is, standing on Grace Street again, looking into the eyes of the only man she'd ever love, Haley realizes she's not fine at all. She misses him — misses what they had, what they could have had.
Nathan, too, doesn't realize how much he misses her until he sees her again. He thought he saw a ghost. Perhaps he was being haunted. He slams on his breaks, almost running the red light. Haley James was right there, standing in front of Karen's cafe as the wind blew through her honey blonde hair. Almost as if she'd never left at all.
Haley loved Tree Hill as much as she loved Nathan. They had gone back frequently - almost every weekend - and shared the dream of one day settling down there. They talked of building a house on the beach and raising as many babies as they could. She hoped they'd have boys who looked like him. Nathan wanted daughters with eyes the same color as Haley's.
One particular weekend, Haley and Nathan spent the night at his parents' house and Deb Scott cracked open the old photo albums, so she and Haley could gush over a baby Nathan. His cheeks were red as he watched his girlfriend coo over a photo of him wearing glasses, sprawled out on a twin-sized bed wearing his beloved basketball pajamas. He must've been about six or seven-years-old. Haley thought he was adorable. Deb flipped through more of the photos, finding a page of pictures from Nathan's t-ball days. Haley giggled, listening to his mother tell the story about how he ran the wrong way on the bases. Nathan simply shook his head before kissing Haley's temple. He didn't care about his past, as long as Haley was his future.
When they broke up, Haley convinced herself there was nothing else she could have done. She tried to forget about him, tried to forget the way her smile tilted when he walked into a room, tried to forget how her heart echoed his name. But it was impossible to forget something she remembers all too well.
One of her favorite memories of them happened at midnight. He was spending the night at her place. She'd woken, particularly thirsty, and tip-toed to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Minutes later, Nathan appeared, shirtless and smirking sleepily. He wrapped his arms around her, both barefoot standing in front of the refrigerator light, and started slow dancing. They lost track of time, simply twirling and humming and kissing. It was a night they wouldn't forget.
But, mixed among all the good memories, were the bad ones too. Haley doesn't want to remember the negative - only the good - but memory doesn't work like that. We can't select what we keep and what we get rid of. Somehow, brains always find a way to resurface everything we wish we could forget. Just like the clouds, we can't stop the rain after it has already fallen.
Haley remembered the fights. The miscommunications. It was stupid. Dumb, even. How he made promises he couldn't keep, like moving to Tree Hill. His work was becoming more demanding, which meant, less weekend trips and even less time spent together. He had to stay in Charlotte. He was getting more clients there. Haley was becoming restless. Charlotte was never home. She didn't want to stay there any longer. It became a constant case of "but you said" and "I didn't say that." They got lost in translation.
Haley knows now maybe she asked for too much, too soon. She could have lived without Tree Hill. She couldn't live without him.
They were a masterpiece in the making, but Nathan tore it all up. He was running scared. Too much, too soon. He remembers it, but he wishes he didn't.
He remembers calling her, breaking her dreams and all his forgotten promises. He tried to hide the pain in his voice, instead sounding so damn cruel in his casualty. "I can't do this anymore" he said. On the phone. Not even having the nerve to break up with her in person. She felt like a piece of paper. Fragile, crumbled, ripped, torn, broken. Just like that.
Haley wants to feel ok again. She wants to be herself - the self before Nathan. But he changed her, even before he broke her. Time was standing still. She, herself, stood paralyzed on the corner, wondering why she was even there in the first place. Maybe, just maybe, she needed to feel something again.
A few months after the break up, Haley got a package from Nathan — it was of all her old things she'd left at his apartment. Her shampoo and conditioner, a plaid shirt she wore on the night he made her his own, her old books, coffee mugs, and a few other belongings— but still no yellow scarf.
It was true, Nathan had kept it. It was the only thing that still smelled like her. Honey and lavender. Every time he picked it up, a piece of his heart broke. He didn't want to end it. It wasn't his intentions. He started doubting whether he could really give her the life she wanted. He was afraid of one day not being able to make her smile the way she always did - but, in the end, he hurt her more by leaving. It's something he regrets every single day. So, he kept the scarf, as a reminder of their happiness and love. Haley's innocence and warmness remains threaded through its wool. It's what he remembers.
And so, here they were again: one year later, on that little town street, where Haley loved him more than anything. The street they walked, hand in hand, before he lost the one real thing Nathan ever knew. What they had was rare, but it was real.
The wind blows Haley's hair again. She is stuck on the sidewalk. The light turns green but Nathan doesn't drive. A car behind him honks. He pulls over. He has to see her. Has to hold her. He can't forget her. Can't forget what they had.
Nathan parks haphazardly, probably in a handicapped spot. Haley would later yell at him for it, but right now, he doesn't care. He doesn't know why she's in Tree Hill - he doesn't really know why he is either, other than to relive their glory days. He gets out of the car and rushes right over to her.
"Hales?"
She smiles shyly, "hi."
"I'm so sorry," he shakes his head. It's cold again. The leaves fall like rain around them. This is not how he imagined it - but somehow, it's better. "I miss you so much."
Haley tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear, looking right into his eyes, "I miss you, too."
He takes a step forward, "I never meant—,"
"I know," she whispers. She closes the gap between them. His arms instantly land around her waist and searches her eyes for permission. She nods, slightly, and he leans down.
"I still love you."
Her eyes flutter shut, "I love you, too."
They kiss. It's better than they remember.
And it's this moment, they will add to a lifetime of memories. The memory of when their story continues — the memory they will tell their five children, all who inherit Haley's wide eyes and Nathan's sweet disposition. It's this story that they remember to tell about their true love.
The end. :)
