Author's Notes: I have not written in forever, this was written on the fly in about an hour so it is scattered and more than likely not very good. But hey, got to get back on the horse somehow, right?

Title and song lyrics taken from "Jericho" by Marc Scibilia.

Summary: I never meant to fall in love, who the hell does? I will fall for you tonight, like Jericho

I've built my wall so high-up

Afraid to feel the sun

It was never supposed to happen. At least, not for a twenty-one year old college basketball star, breaking record books and hearts as he shot to the top. His plan was simple: win the NCAA Championship (check). Be named MVP of the tournament (check). Declare for the NBA draft (check). Be drafted top five (check). Watch as the money rolled in (check). And if he happened to nail a bunch of girls along the way? Well, that was just a bonus.

Falling in love wasn't in the plan. Wasn't even close to being in the plan.

"Tim, why are we here at some lameass bar?" Nathan Scott looked around the open space, dim halogen lights creating a moody atmosphere for the few dozens of customers chatting quietly while soft music played over the loudspeakers. A sign with half working lights announced the name of the bar: TRIC. It was… an interesting space, definitely different from the clubs and bars he frequented in Charlotte.

He tagged along with his best friend back to his hometown, for no particular reason other than Nathan felt some urge to see the small town that Tim was always talking about. Having grown up in Raleigh, a fair-sized city, Nathan wasn't familiar with the quirks of small town living. Such as walking into a coffee shop and the waitress knowing your order before you even sat down. Or being able to pick up your car from the body shop with a promise to "drop that check off next week." As a high school, and later college, basketball star in a basketball-obsessed state, Nathan knew how it felt to be watched, to be studied and picked apart by strangers, but those people didn't know him. They knew his stats backwards and forwards, hell, they probably knew his favorite movie, but they didn't know him. And, truth be told, Nathan preferred it that way.

No one knows you, no one can affect you.

No one can affect you, no one can have control over you.

He had had enough of that with his dad.

So here he sat, in a dark bar in the nothing town of Tree Hill, watching as his best friend was shot down (again) by an uninterested woman.

"Nate man, TRIC is the shit! We came here all the time in high school, I can't tell you how many chicks I scored," Tim bragged, oblivious to rejection. "My friend Peyton runs it—"

"I was never your friend, Tim," a droll voice interrupted, causing both men to turn back to the bar where they were greeted with a head full of blonde curls and a sarcastic smile. "More like 'you tagged along and no one had the heart to tell you scram'."

"Peyton!" Tim exclaimed, reaching over to hug the woman. "Tim dog is back!"

"Yay for us," came the sardonic response as she willingly returned his hug. "It's actually good to see you, Tim. Which is something I never thought I would say."

Tim grinned at Nathan. "See, we have this love-hate relationship. Sawyer loves to give me a hard time."

"Sawyer? I thought he said your name is Peyton," Nathan asked.

"Peyton Sawyer. I run this 'lameass bar'," she retorted, causing Nathan to wince.

"Oh, you heard that? Sorry," he apologized.

Quirking an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest, she said, "Sorry that I heard or sorry for trashing my business?"

Nathan grimaced. "Both. It's… cool, different."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. So, Tim, what brings you and your friend to Tree Hill?"

"Nate here wanted to see where I was considered 'the man'."

Rolling his eyes, Nathan couldn't help but grin as Peyton burst out laughing at Tim's explanation. "Okay, sure Tim."

"I'm Nathan, by the way. Nathan Scott," he introduced himself over Tim's protestation that he really was 'the man' in high school.

"Nice to meet you, Nathan. How do you know Dim?"

"Dim?"

"His nickname in high school."

Nathan laughed. "Gotcha. Tim and I met at college. We both played for Duke."

Nodding her head, Peyton reached under the bar and grabbed a towel, wiping the countertop clean. "I remember how proud Whitey, his high school basketball coach, was when Tim got a scholarship. Tim drove Whitey crazy but he loved all his players."

"Tim's told me a little bit about him, sounds like the feeling was mutual."

Peyton turned to Tim. "I've got to go check on the artist singing in a bit. Tim, nice seeing you again, Lucas and the others should be here soon. I may regret this but drinks are on the house tonight, alright?"

"Told you all the ladies in Tree Hill love Tim," Tim bragged, nudging Nathan with his elbow.

"Okay, Tim. And Peyton, nice meeting you and thanks for the drinks," Nathan said before Peyton walked away.

Sipping his beer, Nathan turned back to face the stage, noticing for the first time that it was set up for a performance of some kind. "Who's Lucas?"

"Peyton's boyfriend. Or husband now, I don't know. They were this whole big drama in high school, along with Peyton's best friend, Brooke. I don't know how Lucas scored one hottie, much less two," Tim shrugged.

The two continued talking while waiting for the entertainment to start. The crowd slowly became bigger until eventually all the tables were full and people began to gather at the front of the stage. Clearly whoever was singing tonight was a big draw for the small club.

About thirty minutes later, Peyton stepped up on the stage. "Hey Tree Hill, how's everyone doing? Y'all ready for our singer tonight?" she said as the crowd cheered eagerly. "Well, you know and love her, the one and only Haley James!"

A petite woman stepped onto the stage, a guitar slung across her chest. Her long honey-colored hair shimmered under the stage lights as she crossed over to the microphone. Nathan, who had been ordering another beer, turned back to the stage to see the person who drew such a large crowd of fans.

So shake the ground in front of me

And set my world on fire

His heart stopped. And then resumed such rapid beating he thought he was having a heart attack. His palms became sweaty. His stomach clenched. He alternatively felt like throwing up or that he could run a marathon.

He had never experienced such a reaction before, not even before the championship game in college. He was always calm and collected, never one to stress or freak out. Certainly never over a woman. Girls had always come easy to him. Being the hotshot basketball star made it so he never had to work to get a girl to fall into his bed. His heart never raced over a girl. His palms never got sweaty over a girl. Nathan Scott didn't bother over women because he never had to.

But this, this was something new…

As he stared at the woman on stage as she began to sing, he saw flashes in his mind: of first dates and nervous hand-holding, of tangled sheets and naked limbs, of wide grins and a shining ring, of dark-haired children laughing as a woman played a piano, of porch swings and summer nights while children ran in the grass…

What was happening to him?

"Nate, man, you alright?" Tim asked, shaking Nathan from his daze. "You've been staring at Haley and you're kinda freaking me out."

Shaking his head, Nathan took a long sip from his beer in an attempt to delay answering. "Yeah," he said, clearing his throat before speaking again. "I'm fine, just… who is she?"

"Haley? She sang here a lot in high school too, didn't know she was still in town. I thought she'd be on tour by now or something."

"So you know her?" Nathan asked as he watched her perform. Even knowing nothing about her, he could tell that she was in her element on stage.

"Yeah, Haley's great, man. She tutored me in high school so I got to know her pretty well I guess. She always loved to sing and she's pretty good, so I figured she'd become a big recording artist. There were rumors our junior year that she turned down a tour," Tim explained. "She was dating this douchebag guitar player and supposedly he had connections but I don't know, I guess it didn't work out for her."

Nathan continued to watch as Haley performed several songs. A few he recognized but the majority he assumed were originals. He couldn't take his eyes off of her – the way her eyes sparkled as she glanced around at the crowd cheering for her, the snug fit of her jeans, how she seemed to pour herself into every song, baring her emotions for all to see…

"Do—do you think, I mean, do you think we could meet her afterwards?" Nathan could feel Tim staring at him but refused to meet his gaze.

"Why?"

Nathan shrugged in an attempt to appear nonchalant. "She's really good. Great, even. I'd- I'd just like to tell her, that's all."

"Whatever you say, Nate."

Nathan couldn't fail to hear the amusement in Tim's voice.

Nearly an hour later, Nathan and Tim stood backstage with a crowd of others, including Lucas (who, Tim informed him, was Haley's lifelong best friend) and other friends from high school, waiting for Haley to come out of the dressing room. Tim had managed to find Peyton again and asked her if he could say hello to Haley after the show. Peyton had smirked but agreed, telling them to come to the back as soon as Haley finished her set.

So here Nathan stood, palms sweating, heart racing, waiting to meet the woman who had made him feel like an awkward pre-teen on his first date.

The dressing room door opened and amidst the group of friends crowding around the singer, exclamations of "You were so good tonight!" and "Tutor Girl, you looked bitching up there!" ringing in the air, Nathan caught a glimpse of the woman who had affected him so deeply in such a short amount of time. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, it appeared she had washed off most of her makeup, and she was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans… and Nathan had never seen someone look as beautiful as Haley did right then.

This wasn't Nathan. He didn't find women "beautiful," more like "hot" or "sexy." He didn't trip over himself to meet girls. He didn't zone out on a woman across the room, staring at her to see if he could determine if her eyes had more flecks of green or hazel. He didn't do this, any of this.

But here he was, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of a woman who had turned his world upside down in a matter of hours.

Hell, all he knew was her name, that she tutored Tim in high school, and that she was the best singer he had ever heard. And yet, there was a whisper inside of him that he had known her all his life.

The crowd around Haley eventually dispersed, with Lucas and the others telling her they would catch up with her at a place called "Karen's," leaving Nathan and Tim alone with Haley.

"Tim? Tim Smith? What—what are you doing here?"

"Hey Haley," Tim said as he leaned in for a hug. "I brought my boy Nate here to check out Tree Hill and I just had to show him TRIC."

Haley glanced at Nathan and he swore he felt an electric shock race through him when her eyes met his. Her brown eyes (with flecks of hazel he noticed, the earlier debate now solved) sparkled with a warmth he had never experienced before. He felt like he could look into those eyes forever.

"Hi," she said softly, her hand reaching out to shake his. As his larger hand enveloped her smaller one, what felt like fire raced through him, lighting his nerves with just a simple touch and causing him to shiver.

"Hi," he echoed lamely, unable to tear his gaze from her.

"So, how do you know Tim?"

"Tim?"

Haley laughed and Nathan grinned at the sound. "Yes, Tim. The man standing beside you."

Nathan blushed at his complete lack of cool. "Oh, we both played for Duke. Bas-basketball, we both played basketball. For Duke. The university."

Oh god, let the floor open up and swallow him because he had never felt so mortified. Here he was, talking to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he was jabbering like an idiot, like he had never talked to a pretty girl before. Nathan purposely ignored Tim's stare. He knew his friend was wondering what had happened to the typically unflappable Nathan Scott. The one who never wanted for female companionship, never had any issues talking to girls.

But there was something about this girl…

"Nice to meet you….," Haley trailed off, lips twitching into a smile.

"Nathan. Nathan Scott. You sounded wonderful tonight."

Haley blushed, and Nathan had to clench his fist to keep from running his fingers down the reddened cheek.

"Thanks. It's nice to meet friends of Tim's, he hasn't been back much since he started at Duke. You know, the university," she teased, her small smile breaking into a full-fledged grin, the sight of which nearly took Nathan's breath away.

Slightly embarrassed, Nathan bent his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nathan, I'm just kidding," Haley said as she placed her hand on his arm.

Taking a deep breath, Nathan decided to take a leap. "Can I buy you a drink? I mean, you probably already have plans with your friends but—"

"Nathan, I would love to get a drink with you."

I will fall for you tonight, like Jericho

So here he is, six months, five arguments, four goodbyes and hellos, three media interviews, two apartment moves, and one proposal later, standing at the end of an aisle in a tiny church in a small town, waiting for his life to begin.

I never meant to fall in love, who the hell does?

Fin.