Okay so I haven't updated in forever. My apologizes. Truthfully, I got sick of writing this and ran out of ideas but I recently discovered some notes and with the helpful support of Zara, I forced myself to update. Now I just hope people are still interested. Thankfully, my writing has improved immensely since I started this story in tenth grade. I can't believe I start college in a week! With that said, I probably won't update again for a while but I actually want to finish this since it was my first 'baby'. Haha. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me. Enjoy!

P.S. Keep in mind, there is a few month time jump from the last chapter to this one.

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"You've been spending a lot of time with Nathan lately."

A soft blush tinted Haley's cheeks as she dropped one of Jackson's overnight bags on her mother's couch.

"He's my boyfriend, Mom." She shrugged, her words rolling off her tongue effortlessly. "Of course I'm going to spend a lot of time with him."

"That's not what I meant." Lydia James smirked, placing her hands on her hips. "This is what, like, the fourth time this month you've stayed over night?"

Haley rolled her eyes, looking behind her to make sure her son's tiny ears weren't listening. "We haven't… I mean… it's not what you think."

"Well why the Hell not? You've been together for six months already!"

Another soft sigh emit from the younger James woman. It was true. Tonight was her and Nathan's six month anniversary and they've yet to make love. It's not that she didn't want to, because she did, she just still wasn't ready, and thankfully, Nathan was extremely respectful of her wishes and has yet to pressure her. It made her fall even harder in love for him.

"Mom, we've been through this. I'm not ready for…that."

Lydia rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated. "You're not getting any younger bub. And don't keep the poor boy waiting any longer—"

"Nathan is fine with it." She mumbled under her breath.

"I'm just saying. Think about it. I mean, it's Nathan, honey. Look how good he is to you and Jackson. You know he won't hurt you."

Haley blinked rapidly in attempt to dissipate her tears. "I know. I'm just scared."

Lydia tentatively placed her hand on Haley's shoulder. "There's nothing to be nervous about. It'll feel great—"

"Mom!" Haley chided.

"What will feel great?" Jackson asked innocently as he popped up from behind the couch, joining in on the conversation.

Haley's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls as Lydia laughed from beside her.

"Nothing, buddy. Grandma's just being silly. Right, Mom?" She grit through her teeth.

Lydia let out a brief chuckle. "Uh, right."

Jackson's dirty blonde eyebrows furrowed tightly between his blue eyes. "Okay." He finally squeaked, growing bored of the adult jokes.

Haley cleared her throat, checking the time on her phone. "Shoot! I'm running late. Be good for Grandma, baby." She spoke, kneeling down to give her son a tight hug.

"I will, Mommy. Have fun with Nathan!"

"Oh, she will." Lydia grinned widely, earning a glare from her daughter.

Jackson squealed playfully when Haley placed butterfly kisses on his cheeks before she stood up and hugged Lydia goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow. Call me if anything comes up."

"Okay." Lydia clapped her hands together in a single motion. "Where's Nathan taking you?"

"I'm not sure. He said it was a surprise. All I know is that we'll be spending the night somewhere."

"Alright, well, have fun and be safe. I don't need anymore grand-babies just yet. Unless he proposes because then…"

"Bye Mom!" Haley shouted, practically running out of the door in effort to get away from the consistent tyranny of Lydia James.

As she made it to the car, her cell phone started vibrating in her bag. Pulling it out in one swift motion, she pressed the answer button while getting behind the wheel.

"Hello?" She breathed, clearly flustered.

"Hales, is everything okay?"

An instant smile spread over her lips at the sound of Nathan's evident concern.

"Hi honey, yeah, everything's fine, sorry. I was running late trying to get Jackson to my Mom's and then she kept talking…"

Nathan chuckled knowing first hand how much Lydia could talk. "No problem. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Yep, everything's fine. I just left my Mom's now so I should be at your house in like ten minutes."

"You know I could've picked you up." Nathan replied. "And Jackson could've come too. I miss the little guy."

"Aw he misses you, too, but babe, it's our anniversary. I figured you'd want it to be just us." She spoke as she switched on her blinker and shifted the car into drive with her phone nestled between her ear and neck.

Nathan smirked—Haley could practically hear it through the phone. "Very true, Haley James. Now you get your sexy ass here as soon as possible so I can kiss you."

Haley giggled softly, continuing to drive down the darkened road. "Okay"

"I love you."

Haley was just about to respond as she turned onto the main road, unaware of the silver van speeding through the red light.

"Love you t—AHH!"

The sound of screeching brakes rang shrilly through Nathan's ear.

"Haley? What was that? Are you okay?" He panicked.

Silence.

"Haley! Oh God. Haley? Baby, please answer me."

Once again, the airwaves were silent and Nathan's heart sunk deeply into the pit of his stomach. Racing to the front door, he threw on his black slacks and ran to his car, driving towards Lydia's house in hopes of finding his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Haley's eyes slowly opened, finding the left side of her car completely totaled by a silver Honda Odyssey. The driver of the car got out unscathed, assessing the damage.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" He was a young teen, probably about the age of seventeen. Haley assumed he just got his license and was driving his mother's car.

She was far too shaken up to speak as the airbag crushed against her diaphragm. Inhaling sharply, Haley stretched out her neck and coughed. Thank God everyone was okay… it was just a slight t-bone, but it could've been a lot worse.

She then realized that Nathan was on the phone, but when she looked down, her phone was on the seat of the passenger side, and mysteriously shut off. The force of the impact must've hit the power switch. Carefully, she opened the crushed door of her Lexus and stepped out.

"I'm okay. Are you?"

The teen nodded softly, his hands behind his neck. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you and the light changed so fast—"

"It's okay. Just be glad that no one's hurt." Haley said softly. She looked down and noticed a bruise on her arm, probably from the airbag, but other than that, she was perfectly fine.

"My mom's going to kill me!" The boy groaned, taking in the scene. By now, cars had stopped to make sure everyone was okay, while other drivers dialed 911 in sheer panic.

Haley inhaled sharply. It was an accident, and she felt bad for the kid, but this was seriously going to put a damper on her and Nathan's anniversary night.

Just as she was about to power on her phone and call him about what happened, she heard someone shouting her name.

"Haley!"

Spinning around, she noticed Nathan had pulled over on the side of the road and was running towards her.

"God, baby, are you okay? I heard you scream and I was so scared. I got here as soon as I could-" He rambled nervously, wasting no time to pull her against his chest.

Haley breathed a sigh of relief, burying her face in his suit clad chest. "I'm okay. It was just an accident."

She felt his heart hammering like a hummingbird against his chest, and noticed that his blue eyes were brimming with tears.

"I'm okay, I promise."

Nathan nodded, pressing a long kiss on her forehead. "I can't lose you."

"You won't."

"Is everyone else okay? Did you call the police? Are you hurt? Let me take you to the hospital."

Haley smiled with appreciation, "Nathan, I'm fine. The police are on their way and no one is hurt."

"Are you sure?" He asked, pulling back to gaze into her large brown eyes.

"I'm positive."

He placed another gentle kiss on her lips and sighed. "I was so worried."

"I know. I'm so sorry. I don't even know what happened."

"I'm just glad you're okay." Nathan whispered, holding Haley tightly. As she wrapped her arms around him, he noticed the teenage boy pacing around the accident scene, evidently in distress.

"Is that the kid who hit you?"

Haley followed his gaze and nodded. "Yeah. He ran the red light."

Nathan tensed, reliving his accident not too long ago. He was drunk and hit another man. He killed another man. If the guy wasn't a convict, he would've felt extremely guilty.

"Babe, don't." Haley said softly, already predicting what her boyfriend was about to do. She could feel his anger pulsing.

"He hit you, Hales. You could've died!" His voice cracked like the dry April air surrounding them like a blanket.

Haley ran her thumb across his cheek. "But I didn't. I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

Nathan inhaled a shaky breath. "I love you, too."

"Thank you for coming so quickly. You're my hero."

This earned a boastful grin from Nathan, as he gently squeezed her sides. She leaned up on her tip-toes and stole another kiss from his gentle lips.

"You're sure you're not hurt? I think I need to take you to the doctor."

Haley rolled her eyes playfully, "That's sweet, but no, I'm fine. I feel terrible about our anniversary though. Who knows how long we'll be here for."

"Hey, it's okay. It could've been a lot worse. As long as you're here and as long as you're okay. That's all that matters. Always and forever, right?"

Haley smiled beamingly. "Right."

About an hour and a half later, the cops filed the accident report and a tow truck came to take the cars. The teenager's mother came and picked him up, leaving Nathan and Haley left to thank the first responders.

"Are you sure she doesn't need to go to the hospital?" Nathan asked the paramedic.

The elderly man nodded, "She's fine but if you start to complain of any headaches or nausea then I'd go to a doctor. Everything looks perfectly normal though."

Haley smirked at Nathan, mouthing an 'I told you so'.

"Alright, thanks." Nathan shook his hand politely and wrapped a protective arm around Haley.

"Sorry we missed our dinner plans." Haley sighed, suddenly taking note of her famished stomach.

"That's okay. Why don't we pick up something and bring it back to the beach house?"

Haley smiled, "That sounds perfect."

"Great. What are you in the mood for?"

"Hmm, I'm thinking Chinese."

"Okay then, Chinese it is."

Minutes later, they placed their orders and were on their way to pick it up.

Nathan then drove another twenty minutes where they arrived at his beach house in Wrightsville, North Carolina.

"I love it here!" Haley squealed excitedly.

Nathan laughed, pulling the door open for her.

"My original plan was to take you to the new seafood shack about five minutes from here. We'll have to try it sometime soon. Maybe once school finishes we can come out for a vacation with Jackson. This house hardly ever gets used." He explained, walking up the narrow staircase, following closely behind Haley who was carrying one of the Chinese food bags.

"That's a good idea. I'm sure Jackson would absolutely love that."

"It's a date then." Nathan winked. "Family vacation in June."

Haley's heart skipped a beat at the mention of them being a family. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it… but, it's still far too soon.

"I can't wait." She gushed. "But right now, I can't wait to eat. I'm starving!"

Nathan chuckled, "So am I."

As they walked into the kitchen, Haley gasped when she noticed the surroundings. Nathan had set up a candle-lit dinner with rose pedals scattered onto and around the table.

"Nathan, this is so beautiful! I can't believe you did all this."

"This was supposed to be for dessert after the restaurant, but it'll work for dinner, too."

Haley smiled as she kissed him sweetly.

"I made a cake, too. Strawberry. It's your favorite, isn't it?"

Haley nodded, pressing yet another kiss upon his lips. "It is. You're so perfect. How did I get so lucky?"

Nathan smirked as he lowered his hands south of her lower waist. "Well, it helps that you're so hot. Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?"

Haley blushed, "No."

"Well, you, Haley James, are by far the most beautiful woman I ever laid my eyes upon."

"Stop it." She said shyly.

"I'm serious." Nathan whispered hotly in her ear, causing her to shiver. "You look so sexy in this red dress. I can't believe you're all mine."

Haley's cheeks turned the color of said dress as she ran her hands over the buttons of Nathan's light blue button-up shirt.

"I'm so lucky to have you, Nathan. These past six months have been the best six months of my life."

Nathan rested his forehead against Haley's, and breathed against her lips. "You're my everything now."

Haley slowly walked backwards to the couch, leading Nathan. Together, they stumbled onto the leather, and attached their lips. They began to heavily make out, which soon lead to the removal of clothing items.

Just as Haley was about to unzip Nathan's pant, he stopped.

"Hales, baby, we have to stop." He said, gasping for breath.

She frowned, "Why?"

Nathan sat up and inhaled deeply. "I don't want to pressure you."

"You're not." She said softly.

"I feel like I am. I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with."

Haley sighed frustratedly. "I'll tell you when I'm not comfortable."

"I'm sorry, I just… I need to calm down."

A petulant pout formed on her lips. "But I wanted to keep going."

"You wanted to wait until marriage, and so that's what we're going to do."

"What?" Haley sat up straighter. "Are you kidding?"

"No."

"But-"

Nathan grinned, "No but's. We're waiting."

Haley groaned again. "But what if I told you I was ready?"

"Are you?"

She remained silent.

"Exactly." Nathan smiled again. "I promise you, I'm never going to pressure you. What happened to you was completely cruel and unfair but I understand and I will wait forever if I have to. This isn't about sex, Hales. When you're ready to make love, then I will be, too."

Tears flooded uncontrollably from Haley's large brown eyes. "You're so perfect."

Nathan smiled as he wiped her tears away. "I love you, beautiful. And I know it's too soon to say something like this but I'm going to marry you one day, Haley James."

Haley laughed through her tears and firmly kissed him. "I love you, Nathan Scott. Thank you for everything."

He placed his hands over her heart and beamed with pride. "Thank you for letting me in."