othmuses

[othmuses]

was it a hasty plan? yes. and if he ruminated on the impulse much longer, the brunette teen would have talked himself out of a forever. the tree hill ravens had endured a devastating loss in the championship game, leaving a flurry of mixed emotions to be coerced out and into the light. there was simply nobody else. it was her. haley bob james was the only girl he could foresee a future with. “yes, tonight. you are…” he beated for a brief moment, a callused hand stroking her damp cheek as his thumb smoothed gentle circles into her skin. “you are everything i could have dreamed of. and…i’m sure if your parents say no ill learn to live with it. but i just want you. you’re my forever and my always,” he mused almond eyes memorizing her every feature up close and mere centimeters away. inhaling the same air that swirled around them. an impish smirk graced the corner of his near purple lips as he sat himself up on the bed. “i mean, we live near a beach, i was thinking if me and mrs james agree, they could be our witnesses and you’ll look beautiful in anything, i swear,” as each word melted off his lips, they were coated in truth. haley james was indeed the most immeasurably beautiful person he’d ever met. not just outwardly, but it was internal. her heart was what was the magnetic force drew him in a euphoric fashion. regular high school students did not get married. but the couple was nothing if not abnormal. “do you trust me, hales?”

so she was getting married. well, if her parents said yes. because honestly, who in their right minds, would their seventeen year old daughter get married if she wasn't pregnant? insane parents, that's who. well, at least she wasn't pregnant. that would be the first thing she would tell her parents. no, she wasn't pregnant. just crazy in love. no, it couldn't wait until after college. this was happening now. and if they said no? well, she's not sure they would let her emancipate herself either. she just has to go in there with high hopes. did haley know the first thing about being a wife? well, no. but she was smart enough to figure it out. and the girl had always been independent and self efficient. so technically, she was already an adult, even if her age didn't reflect it yet. haley sighed as she felt his lips against her neck. he made her weak. simply weak. there was no other way of putting it. for the rest of her lives. the word tonight quickly snapped her back into reality once more. "tonight? as in a few hours tonight? that tonight?" the girl inquired, still not believing the words that left her now fiance's mouth. how was that even possible? in a few hours? "where would we even get married? oh my god nathan, i don't even have a white dress in my closet!" cue the freak out. haley james: the planner, not really a fan of spontaneous plans and it clearly showed.

[othmuses]

with every moment that melted away, the more confidence nathan became in the decision. it was once in his very minimal lifetime he had indulged in what he sought for himself — not only himself, but for the pair. what was his was hers, so to speak. the man knew it was forbidden by his girlfriend’s tow headed companion that they may be in love. it had been weeks since the notion of payback had been circulating through his mind. if anything, this was nathan royal scott in his truest form. his emotional intelligence was perceptible to understand what was right and wrong. this was an inexplainable buzz he found himself diluting his cortex of tolerating more. noses brushed ever so carefully, a wink of a grin impressed upon pale pink borders. “so begging is your thing? that’s too bad, if you’d made me wait out even one second longer that would be what i resorted to. now we’ll never know,” the basketball player teased, lips pressed against the soft indent of her neck, brushing the gap as he lead himself up the apple of her cheek. “you will,” he confirmed in an inquiring manner, his tone somewhat hoarse yet somehow smooth and comforting. this could be his brain contorting what he wanted to hear simply because it was so. “how does tonight sound?” the junior exacted, eyebrow stiffly raised in a playful act. was he eager? possibly. but the clichéd phrase why wait? when you know, you know happened to ring in it's most honest and pure form to one north carolina teen. if his future lied within her, he couldn't fail.

he was right. this love was greater than anything she could ever have dreamt up. most people wait their whole lives and never get to experience this type of love. it's crazy, it's insane, but it's theirs. she never knew she could feel this strongly about anyone. his family. she was his family. of course she wanted to be that for him. she wanted to be the person that he could come to at anytime, depend on. maybe at the end of the day they were just two lonely souls that needed to find each other. when her and luke put their junior year predictions into that brick wall, well, this definitely wasn't on there. the plot was lost long ago. so haley scott. haley james scott? well, she had time to figure it out, she hoped. it'd be the name on her license, after all. haley's terrified, rightfully so, but she can't really put her finger on it, she just had a feeling everything would be okay. "well, since you want to make me a scott so bad, i won't make you get on your knees and beg," the girl teased against him, "yes, yes, i will marry you," oh if luke was mad about that damn tattoo. maybe he'd come around eventually? that'd be a cold day in hell. but even if he didn't, she had to do what made her happy. even, especially, if that made her a teen bride. stranger things had happened, right? blame it on her being love drunk out of her mind. haley scott, haley james scott, nathan scott's wife, what a nice ring it had to it.

[othmuses]

nathan scott was surrounded by a nebula of charged, radioactive tenderness that he couldn’t quite place a word on. stop it. well, not exactly the response that satisfied his curiosity. he was nothing if not prepared for the pushback of an imperious demand. chestnut waves collapse into the crook of haley’s shoulder, his nose prompted at an angle that he was certain he wouldn’t suffocate. each breath he drew was a vicious step toward chaos, and maybe that was his true intention. to dabble in the art of shock. there was no one he answered to, after all. no, no, this was different. a gentle scoff emitted from soft pale pink lips, turning a shade darker as rain continued to drip from his exposed body. “come on..what we have isn’t normal and what i feel for you? it definitely isn’t normal,” a brief pause, as dark eyes measured in to her pair of lighter ones. it was nearly an impossible task to not sink into the bevy of her gaze. “you’re my family now, haley. the one true thing i have. there’s no one else i could possibly feel this intensely for. i don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you’re not ready for, trust me. it’s not about that,” the reiteration was a necessary evil. yes, they were both in high school, on two separate levels of expertise. it was unfortunate that his past bled into the footholds of his future. although his reputation proceeded him, he was no longer that individual. it was bones to him. “i’ll be the guy that asks for your parents permission. if they give me their blessing to marry you, please, say you will,” the teen settled, voice husky and low as if he were uttering a secret despite the two of them being the only bodies in the room.

she doesn't think she hears him right at first. because it's insane. then he repeats it again, confirming the sentiment. marry me, haley james. dizzying. pure dizzying. the girl's not sure how else to describe it. there's no other way to describe it. he's not serious. maybe just caught up in the moment. "stop it," haley scoffs softly. she's waiting for him to throw in a just kidding, or a someday. but he doesn't. haley had a plan for her life. stanford university, then maybe she would think about settling down. but that was a maybe. but at seventeen, in high school? what? who gets married in high school and isn't pregnant? even if she wanted to, and maybe she does, her family would never go for it. never in a million years. "there's no way in hell my parents are letting me get married at seventeen, nathan," she stated, shaking her head as she did so. haley james, the youngest daughter of seven to lydia and jimmy james. yes, her dad's name was james james because of course it was. being the youngest meant that she basically was an only child at this point. all her siblings out of the house and married. yeah, maybe it got a little lonely at times, but that's why she spent so much time with karen and lucas. who is definitely not going to talk to her anymore if he finds out she was proposed to. "i mean, even if they did, it's just... insane," a breath escaped past her lips. she couldn't really be considering this, could she? god, love really does make you do crazy things.

[othmuses]

exasperation muddled through the tight lining of his creased lips, teeth gripping onto the flesh of his cheek. damp, brunette tresses shifted back and forth as he shook his head, weighing his forehead deeper to hers. “i mean it,” he rebutted, air pushing through his mouth as if he were gathering the strength to reply. he was emancipated, free to act on any impulse he wanted. within reason, he had been given a brief reality check by his opposite that challenged his point of view as quickly as a snap of fingers could do. why wait? live in the now. there might not be another fleeting chance to be in this exact position again. and so, he took the reins and held on for dear life. “you’re my family..the one true thing i have, hales…i love you,” the tension in the air gripped his throat like a tidal wave, collapsing into the shore that was his chest, as it was infused with adrenaline. so much so, that his muscles began to shake. maybe from the chill of stepping out into the north carolina rain, but it certainly wasn’t aiding in a differentiation between the two.

it was as simple and as complicated as this: he was in love. the word that brought a myriad of complications. their age. two young, callow teenagers didn’t know the true meaning of the word love. not really. in fact, nathan scott had never been an observer of an example demonstration through deb and dan scott since he was born. there was a two folded explanation for this: he was either exact in his every emotion, leading with the ingenuity of his heart — or, dishonest with himself. there was little to no evidence that proved to be the exact measure in which nathan scott was true. deep within his very soul, she was his heart. not only his heart, his motivation. his very existence of being. and there was no other catalyst for it. she had done the unthinkable. just mere weeks ago the basketball player was tantalizing with the idea of tricking her into falling for him. to then turn around and torture his so called half brother. in the beginning it was a convincing plan of action. the goal? nathan himself wasn’t exactly sure, however it had ceased being a reason to crawl under lucas’ skin and became something he rather looked forward to. and here he was, now, encapsulated in his entire world as she stared right at him. her soulful, bright, doe-filled eyes that nearly made him want to die. he could drown in them, in her. this was his forever, in whatever limited time that was in the world. “marry me,” the words were uttered as easily as breathing. and in one sweep of inhalation, he was stalled in time. haley james was all he ever could’ve wanted, ever could've needed. she was everything, and was determined to make a permanence. who cares if they were teenagers in high school? how old did you have to be to know for sure that you’re in love? "marry me, haley james," the seventeen year old repeated, desperation evident in his tone as a callused thumb brushed along the seemingly perfect curve of her cheek.

haley hates sports. despises them. absolutely despises them. "hales, you just don't get the magic of it all. the goosebumps of a buzzer beater, an upset. there's nothing like it," her best friend would explain time and time again. because of course she'd be blessed with one who was a basketball guy to his core. yeah, maybe she didn't get it, but she was a songwriter. and passion was passion, she supposed, any way you could swing it. maybe some people's passion were simply just sweaty guys running up and down a court for forty eight minutes, give or take. the university of north carolina games that were constantly on at karen and luke's were simply background music to her. but in small towns across the united states with nothing else to do, sports were the only thing people had to care about. in most, it was all about football. if one was gonna make a teen drama about a small town, it'd be about football. but in tree hill? basketball reigned supreme. how black and blue banners and signs would hang in businesses' windows on main street, people's lawns, go ravens! come support your ravens! the basketball team were treated like gods and haley wanted no part of that world. but whether she liked it or not, she was in it. dragged in head first. stupid nathan, stupid lucas, stupid basketball.

haley james was not stupid. the very first time nathan scott walked into the tutoring center and said she was his tutor, she saw right through him. she was just a pawn in his little game to hurt lucas. he didn't think she'd actually fall for it, did he? because he wasn't a god, he was a pretentious dick. but the ball was in her court. and if he wanted her to continue tutoring him, he'd leave lucas the hell alone. but then something weird happened. she discovered he had a soft side. more than a soft side, she could bring the six five jock to his knees in a matter of moments. the conformation that he wasn't a villain. just simply the product of his environment. he had the biggest dick in the world as a father, no wonder he turned out how the way he did. she had never been in love before. only read about it, seen it in movies, listened to it in music. but god, it was even more terrifying than she could ever have imagined. more than anything, she was terrified of getting hurt. he could break her heart just like that. that's she was afraid of, not being enough, because at the end of the day, she was just haley. she wasn't a brooke davis or a peyton sawyer. just haley.

the closer she got to nathan, the farther away she became from lucas. her best friend hated it, hated that she chose nathan over him. but she hadn't. why? why did she have to choose one of them? they were both important to her. she loved both of them. in a different way, but still. so she was in the middle of it and her and luke were not talking. out of all the years of friendship, they had never not talked for this long. he was just being unreasonable. yes, she could understand to a point, but couldn't he just trust that maybe she knew what she was doing? he has you branded like a damn cow, hales. he doesn't even know about it! just fuck off, luke. yes, maybe getting her boyfriend's number on her lower back was insane, but who cares? haley james was in love for the first time. maybe nathan scott was her forever, maybe he wasn't, but right now all she felt was so much... love. her heart could simply burst at how much she was in love with him. she never she could love anyone this much. he had her, every inch of her. haley finally understood all those love songs.

the age old classic late nineties early two thousands coming of age rom com where the jock and nerd fall in love. very rachael leigh cook and freddie prinze jr of them, clearly. very hilary duff and chad michael murray. at this point, someone could've stamped virgin on her head, whore on his. a kiss in the rain. how very rom com of them. right now, the world is just the two of them. that's how she liked it. being this close to him was just so.... peaceful. paradise. bliss. the word forever makes her head spin. he could really love her forever? no way. "forever, huh? oh, you say the sweetest things to me, nathan scott," she giggled, "so could i, so could i," she sighed happily against him. of course she could. she wanted to.

[othmuses]

darkness scattered through the dim view of the dingy solo level apartment window. the blistering pelt of rain ricocheted off the glass in tandem. the cacophony echoing in rhythm with each thunderous roar of his heart pounding against his chest. nathan scott was in love. more than in love. each fiber of his body was made up solely of haley james. each waking thought, sleepy daydream, and consuming conversation had some inkling of her in it. yet how could he admit that he was falling for his once well acquainted tutor who fell under false pretenses? his plan of a takedown to his half brother didn’t necessarily go without a hitch. it had it’s hiccups, of course. payback for all he had worked for — or should he say, his father worked for, as he so liked to recall — that was soon foretold to be taken away. his plans of being tree hill high’s shining basketball star with all others faltering to the dust. the relationship with said brother was knowingly nonexistent in the small town gossip train grapevine. middle aged mothers flocked at the chance of assessing old, matured wounds with their sharp, twisted words. all his life, nathan had been told of the tow headed subject that paralleled his world in every single way. the only difference is dan scott was a driving force in his life, where as lucas had the shockingly fair life from the younger sibling’s point of view. it was anything but a cake walk navigating the self centered point in the solar system known as his dad. and if there wasn’t compliance, there were consequences. it was all details that were collected into the wider picture. the praise and satisfaction that lacked in the scott family.

and yet, here he was. breath to breath with the honey haired beauty whom he had entrusted with his heart. it hadn’t always been this way. prior to meeting the five-foot-four-inched best friend of his half brother, nathan was anything if not a self proclaimed jerk. his exterior had hardened as his father before him, unabashed to do much other than take the easy road. a jock to his core, he carried himself with the fragile ego that most were painted with when looking to anyone labeled an athlete. and with a sport to spill into his cup, it left next to nothing for his academics. a loophole, or so it would seem. it was nearly a match made in heaven that lucas’ best friend was one of the smartest individuals in their grade. as he sauntered into the tutoring center, feigned bewilderment followed in the crease of his eyebrow as he called out, “hey, you must be haley,”

and that, was the beginning of the rollercoaster his emotions had taken him to now. she had been his aid in mathematics, english, history; and when it came down to it, love. many months in the past half year he recollected the dawns memories of entangling with the bleach blonde curls, cherry chapstick, curved jaw of one peyton sawyer. if there was an award for the boyfriend of the year, he would have won in spades. on opposite day. two years of a catastrophic relationship that ended just how is started. a failure. the knowledge of his battered ways has weighed heavy on his heart as of late. how in the hell did she put up with his pungent ways for so long? nathan wasn’t sure. what he was sure of, in the very least, was how he felt for haley. confessing the love to her that was paired with kisses shared in the rain. the cool edge of the raindrops simmered the flames that were ignited in the depths of his chest. i want to be somebody worthy of being with you, he said. not a single syllable of a fib uttered. somehow, within the matter of minutes they had migrated from outside to the four walls of his apartment. which led to the present. eager hues drank in his opposite like a tall glass of water, within the boundary that was set of no return. nathan scott wasn’t a virgin. that was a known fact. it seemed every student at tree hill high school had knowledge of such. and with that knowledge was also that of not pursuing haley in a manner she didn’t consent to doing. the tanned teen was crafting certain perspective that entailed obeying the wishes of his tutor. no pressure, no impulse.

there he laid, hovering in delicate fashion over the silhouette of his girlfriend’s stature. the harsh light of the pitch black sky was scarcely lit with the thrum of lighting that crackled in the sky every so often. but he didn’t need the gift of sight to know how stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful haley was. drips of residual raindrops trickled off the fringe of his hair, popping into the pleats of the covers on his bed. they were wet from the rain, soaking even. and still, the teen couldn’t find a single flaw found in her. the best of brokenness between kisses led him to gaze with euphoric stamina, each breath he inhaled as dark eyes fluttered open to meet what he knew to be her own pair. rotund fingertips spread along the flush of her cheek to the bend of her ear, tucking wet strands of hair behind. his nose brushed carefully along the tip of her own, the lightest of touch before the words that flooded through his conscientious shattered into the atmosphere like a bang of a gong. “i could love you forever, haley james…” it began, forehead to her own now, the warmth of each breath she drew hitting his cheek in an intoxicating force. so this was love. where every morsel of mind body and soul swirling together like the bleat of rain now ignored in the background. where everything felt right despite the outside world had no influence of what was had in the right now.