#/ he also got placed into a basket ball hoop. thrown into a closet.

[moonspower]

virote is not reliving last year when on oct 21 someone grabbed him by his collar and threw him into a ditch.

[waitimcomingtoo]

Where We Start Again - 6

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: how do you fake date someone you have real feelings for?

Series Masterlist and regular Masterlist

Playlist by @tiny-friggin-human

Peter woke up the next day with a blank slate. There were about 3 seconds where he had no memory of the night before. Those 3 seconds were cut short by you rolling over and cuddling into Peters side, accidentally getting some hair in his mouth. He freed one of his arms and pulled the hair out of his mouth, then he remembered.

The cookies, the party, the bruises, the sleepover, all of it came rushing back to him and his eyes flung open. He shifted them to the side to get a look at you.

You were the opposite, still sleeping soundly on Peters chest. You had an arm thrown across his torso so he couldn’t get up, not that he wanted to.

He just didn’t want May to catch him with a girl in his bed.

Peter felt you stir in your sleep and could hear your heartbeat quicken as you woke up. You nuzzled into his body as you stretched and slowly sat up, your tired eyes meeting Peters wide open ones.

“Good morning.” He said robotically, earning a sleepy laugh from you. You laid back down and cuddled into his chest, scooting impossibly closer to him in the bed. Your lazy Saturday morning demeanor was the antithesis of Peters. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was pretty sure he was sweating out of every single pore on his body.

“Your sheets are soft.” You sighed in content.

“So I’ve heard.” He squeaked. You laughed against his rib cage and he eased up a little.

“You smell good.” You mumbled. Peter blew out a nervous breath and tried to relax. This may never happen again, and he didn’t want to ruin it by having a heart attack.

“Give it a minute.” He said. “My breath will hit you soon.”

“Shut up. I bet you don’t even have morning breath.” You sat up a little to look at him and he blew air on your face. “Oh my God. I take it back. Did whoever gave you those bruises last night also die in your mouth?”

“Maybe.” He sat up as well and noticed you staring at him. “What?”

“Your bruises are gone.” You delicately touched the side of his face where the bruises were, but they were long gone. Lesser wounds healed quickly, but you didn’t know that.

“What bruises?” Peter panicked and played dumb.

“The ones on your face.” You tilted your head in confusion. “I saw them last night.”

“Must’ve been a dream.” Peter shrugged.

“Oh.” Your shoulders slumped like you actually believed him. Not wanting to gaslight you, he placed a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, I’m messing with you. I just heal really fast.” His words came out before he could stop them and you looked even more confused that before.

“What, do you have super powers or something?” You raised an eyebrow as you laughed.

“Ha, yeah right.” Peter forced a laugh. “What’s next, are you gonna ask me if I can stick to walls? You’re crazy.” He shifted his eyes nervously to the closet where his suit was kept

“Right.” You eyed him skeptically. “I’m crazy.”

You ended up walking to a diner to get breakfast before you had to leave for some last minute dance committees.

He didn’t see you much that week since you were busy running around to put the final touches on the dance. But even with your hectic schedule, you made sure you sat with Peter every day at lunch to catch up. You’d hold his hand and listen to every detail about his day until the bell rang, giving him a tight hug before you went off to class. And every night, you were the last person he talked to before he went to bed.

~

On Thursday at lunch, you sat with Peter and Ned at the outdoor basketball court. You popped skittles in your mouth as Peter and Ned bounced a basketball back and forth.

“What do I get if I make this in?” Peter asked, bouncing the ball from hand to hand.

“I’ll give you half my cookie.” Ned offered and pointed to the cookie on the bleachers.

“Well don’t exert yourself, Ned.” Peter said sarcastically.

“I’ll give you a kiss.”

Peter and Ned instantly snapped their heads to you. Had Ned not be equally as stunned as Peter, he would’ve thought he imagined it. Hand holding and hugs had always been the extent of your displays of affection. There was that one time Peter kissed your forehead, but that was during a celebratory moment. Was a basketball really about to be the ticket to kissing you?

“What?” Peter sputtered. Ned took the basketball away from Peter before he could pop it with his iron grip.

“If you can make it in on your first try, I will kiss you.” You shrugged like it wasn’t the biggest deal in the entire world and continued eating your skittles. Peter looked to Ned for help, who was quick with an assist.

“What makes you think he wants a kiss?” Ned replied, making Peter smack him.

“I do!” He exclaimed and before calming down and deepening his voice. “I um, I do.”

“I stand corrected.” Ned claimed and you face flushed at Peters enthusiasm.

“Well it’s better than a cookie.” Peter followed up quickly.

“Go ahead, then.” You sat back in your chair and crossed your legs. “Take a shot.”

“Okay.” Peter said confidently. He didn’t compete in sports at school after he was bitten. If pre spider bite Peter Parker couldn’t make a basket, neither could post spider bite Peter Parker. He did this to keep it fair for the other kids. He knew his powers weren’t a toy and using them to become captain of the basketball team wouldn’t be right.

That being said, he could make an exception if it meant he got to kiss you.

Peter began to dribble up the court, adding in little flourishes he picked up from NBA 2K as he went. You and Ned shared an impresses look as Peter made his way to the basket.

“Buckets buckets bucKETS BUCKETS BUCKETS.” Ned’s cheering gradually got louder as Peter easily made the basket. He caught the rebound and made another one, then another one just for effect. Ned was losing his mind and you were speechless. As the adrenaline left Peters body, he looked to you with an expecting smile. You were slow clapping as you walked over to him, a smirk perched on your pretty face. Peters eyes stayed glued to your lips as the blood caused a roaring in his ears. You got to where he was and took the basketball from him.

“I have to say, I’m impressed.” You laughed. “I didn’t think you had that in you.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, daisy.” Peter said snugly and he stole the basketball back.

“Well lucky for you,” you grinned as you repeated his words, “I love to learn.”

Peters wide eyes followed your hands as you took out a tube of lipgloss and applied a generous layer to your lips. You smacked your lips loudly to really scare him and he jumped back a little.

“All right. A deals a deal.” You sighed dramatically as you put the lip gloss away. “Come here, lover boy.”

You started to lean in but Peter quickly stopped you.

“I can’t kiss you.” He blurted. You backed up in confusion as he twisted his fingers nervously.

“This shit gets crazier every day, I swear.” Ned mumbled to himself.

“Why? You got the ball in.” You tried to mask your disappointment by keeping your tone neutral.

“I know, but it wasn’t a fair bet.” He explained. “I had help.”

“Peter, I watched it happen right in front of me.” You laughed awkwardly. “No one helped you.”

Peter looked at you and sighed. If he couldn’t use his powers to make the basketball team, he couldn’t use them to kiss you either. There was no way he wouldn’t have gotten the ball in. He knew that, but you didn’t. If you had, you never would have made the bet. As much as he wanted to kiss you, he couldn’t do it if it meant he had tricked you.

“They did. Or, it did. It just wasn’t a fair bet, okay?” He kept it as vague as he could to provide you with some sort of explanation.

“Who helped you?” You folded your arms to show that you didn’t believe him.

“It’s not really a who exactly.” He squeaked as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Then what helped you?” Your voice dripped in skepticism.

“A…spider.” He looked down in shame.

“A spider?” You repeated, unamused with his excuse.

“Yes.” He said apologetically, wishing he could give you a better excuse.

“Yes what? I need you to say the full thing for me so you can hear how stupid it sounds.” You antagonized him. He sighed in defeat and looked up at the sky.

“Yes, a spider helped me make the basket.” He mumbled.

“Do you have a sense of how ridiculous you sound now?” You questioned him.

“I promise you, I’m telling you the truth.” He pleaded with you to believe him.

“How am I supposed to believe that a spider helped you basket?” You exclaimed. “You’re telling me a bug came to our table all “swish swish bish” ready and helped you get that ball into the net?”

“That is not what I said. You’re taking creative liberties.” He said pointedly.

“Then what are you saying?”

Peter tugged his bottom lip between his teeth and looked around for listeners. Ned threw the basketball at the hoop, only to have it bounce off the rim and hit him in the face. With no one else around to hear, he took a step towards you.

“Can you keep a secret?” He asked quietly.

“I’m gonna be honest.” You began. “No.”

“Can you keep my secret?” He tried again. “For me?”

“I’ll do my best.” You answered honestly.

“I’m gonna hold you to that.” He pointed at you. “Meet me on my rooftop after school.”

~

“Okay. I came to your weird meeting place.” You called out as you dropped your bag on Peters rooftop. “What’s the secret?”

You put your hands on your hips and looked around for Peter, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hello?” You called out, receiving only your echo in return.

“Go to the edge.” Peters voice came from an unknown location.

“That sounds fun. Should I jump off too?” You yelled back sarcastically.

“Just go to the edge.” His laugh sounded in the air. You rolled your eyes at your willingness to do whatever Peter asked and waltzed over to the edge. You peered over and felt your heart beat pick up as you waited for Peter. Just when you thought he wasn’t coming, you heard his voice again.

“Incoming!”

Before you knew what was happening, you were swept off your feet and flying through the air. A scream ripped through your throat and you clutches whatever force was holding you. The wind whipped through your hair and roared in your ears and suddenly, you were enjoying it.

“Woo!” You let out a happy scream and forced your eyes open. The city you had always lived in looked completely different from above. You swung from building to building before landing on the fire escape of your apartment. You stumbled through your open window and fell on the floor of you bedroom, you on top of Peter.

“Hi.” He laughed breathlessly through the mask. You panted for a moment as you stared at the comically wide eyes of the Spider-Man mask.

“Spider-Man?” You whispered and he nodded. You freed your arm from under him and pulled his mask off, meeting the anxious eyes of your fake boyfriend.

“Peter.” You breathed. You scanned his face as you processed the information you were receiving. “You’re Spiderman?”

“Surprise?” He asked and rolled next to you. You stared at your ceiling for a moment, a million thoughts darting through your brain.

“You’re Spider-Man?” You whispered sharply as you sat up. Peter propped himself up on his elbow and looked up at you.

“Every now and then.” He said quietly. You let out an amused laugh and looked down at the boy who continued to surprise you with a loving smile. Peter held out a hand and helped you up off the floor, the two of you taking a seat on your bed.

“I’ve never had someone swing me around the city in their arms before.” You told him through a smile. You put your hand on his knee and traced daisies with your fingernail.

“Well I’ve never swung someone around the city in my arms before.” He chuckled, feeling goosebumps on his skin under your touch.

“So that’s how the spider helped you make the basket.” You realized.

“Yeah.” He said. “And that’s why I couldn’t kiss you.”

“I still don’t get why.”

“It wouldn’t be right. Ever since I became Spider-Man, I could do all these incredible things. I knew I was gonna make that basket, but you didn’t. It wouldn’t have been right.” He explained shyly. You looked at him fondly and scooted closer to him, taking one of his hands and toting with his fingers.

“Who else knows about this?” You wondered.

“Ned and May, but they found out on accident.“ He told you. “This is the first time I’ve told someone on purpose.”

“Well I appreciate you telling me. On purpose.” You added and nudged him slightly.

“It’s nice time have someone I can trust.” He looked into your eyes with sincerity.

“Me too, Petey.” You rubbed his knuckles your with your thumb. Peter looked down at your hands with a bashful smile.

“Can I ask what happened to your parents?” He asked suddenly, the question having been poking at the back of his mind since the day of the party.

“You can, but I’ve never had much luck with that question.” You laughed humorlessly. “Sometimes, people don’t want you and you never get to know why.”

“Daisy?” Peter asked.

“Yes?”

Peter took your chin between his fingers and made you look at him.

“You’re always gonna be wanted by me.” He said decidedly. “You always have a home here.”

You looked at Peter longingly and cracked a smile.

“We’re at my house.” You said sweetly and he let out a groan.

“I meant a home in me.” He pouted and moved away from you. “I guess I’ll never try to be sweet again.”

“No, I love it when you’re sweet.” You pulled him back and hugged him, leaving your head in the crook of his neck. Peter rested his head on top of yours and rubbed your back.

“I can’t believe it all ends tomorrow.” He mumbled against your hair.

“What ends?” You asked curiously.

“Our fake relationship. After Flash sees us at the dance, we’ll have proven our point. Theres no need to continue.” He said. You pulled out of Peters embrace and looked at the floor, disheartened. You shook your head quickly and got off the bed, going over to your desk to get something.

“Here. I made you this to commemorate our time together.” You said as you handed Peter a canvas. On it was a painting of a couple sitting in a field of daises, watching the sunset. Peter could only assume the couple was you and Peter since they had their backs to the viewer, but he knew it im his heart that it was. The girl was in a hoodie with “Parker” printed on the back and the boy had a scrunchie on his wrist.

“Like a parting gift?” Peter smiled at the pairing as he traced a light fingertip over the brushstrokes.

“Like a ‘thank you for being my friend’ gift.” You said as you took a seat next to him.

“Did you paint this all by yourself?” He looked at you expectantly, falling deeper in love with you when you nodded.

“Yeah. It took me two weeks.” You laughed softly and admire the painting beside him. “I started it the day we started going out.”

“Really?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “We had just met.”

“I know, but,” you shrugged, “something told me this was gonna last. That it was worth the scoliosis I gave myself from painting this.”

“This is the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Peter said in all sincerity as he gazed at the painting. You had signed the bottom and he was tracing your handwriting with his finger.

“Second?”

“Well you still exist.” He said simply and you laughed. You rested your chin on his shoulder for a moment before piping up.

“I almost forgot. I have another surprise for you.” You got off the bed and grabbed your guitar, tuning it as you walked over to Peter. He had flopped on his back and was hanging upside down, making you smile at the sight. You slid down your bed and sat on the floor as, your heads touching each other’s. Peter watched you upside down as you fingered the melody to his favorite song.

“Hey There Delilah.” He smiled in surprise.

“I learned it for you.” You said timidly as you looked at him. Even upside down, he was cute.

“Thank you.” He said softly. “That was beautiful.”

You set the guitar down and got up on your knees, placing your hands on either sides of Peters head and tracing gentle patterns on his cheeks.

“Peter, I’m glad you didn’t kiss me after you made the basket.” You admitted. “I don’t want our first kiss to have ulterior motives.”

“You also had skittles breath.��� He laughed and his breath fanned your face.

“You’re telling me you didn’t want to taste the rainbow?” You asked coyly as you combed your finger through his hair.

“I hate skittles. If we’re gonna continue this fake relationship you have to know this about me.” He pretended to be serious. “I’m so sorry. It’s been weighing on me.”

“This is worse than the sandwich.” You faked a gasp. You both laughed, only quieting down when your eyes locked.

“What did you want our first kiss to be like?” He wondered. Your words unintentionally revealed that you wanted to kiss him, just not at the basketball court. Peter looked at you for an answer, but you had none to give him.

You smiled faded as your eyes trailed down to Peters lips. You hesitated for a moment as his eyebrows drew together, not understanding your sudden change in mood. Your tongue darted between your lips and you sort of smiled. Before Peter could speak, you leaned down and drew his face to yours. His eyes widened in surprise but fluttered shut as he found out what it felt like to kiss a girl. You smiled into the kiss when you felt his eyelashes brush your face and stood a little higher on your knees. He put a hesitant hand on your cheek and you took this as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. Peter felt an entire field of daises blooming in his tummy all at once as you kissed him. He could only thank his lucky stars Flash has decided to pick on him that day in the hallway.

When you pulled away, you were both breathless and a little star struck.

“That was good practice.” Peter was the first to speak. “If we do that in front of Flash at the dance he’ll never bother me again.”

Your smile instantly fell and you plopped back down on the floor with an angry thud. Peter quickly flipped onto his stomach, mind still reeling from the kiss. His last two weeks with you had made him an expect on telling when a girl was angry.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, fearing he had upset you.

“Nothing.” You said cheerfully and got up off the floor. Peter looked at you skeptically as you faked a yawn. “I’m just exhausted. I have to get up early tomorrow for my hair appointment.”

You clicked your tongue and Peter got the hint.

You wanted him to leave.

He knew your sleeping habits. He knew you stayed up until at least 2 am watching family feud. There was no way you were tired at 4 pm.

“You’re getting it done in the morning?” He tilted his head. “The dance isn’t until 7.”

“They get booked fast.” You lied. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

You began to push Peter towards the window he came from but he whipped around to stop you.

“Is everything okay?” He held your shoulders and looked you in the eyes. There was an unfamiliar look in them that made his pulse quicken.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?” You said through the biggest smile had ever seen on you. You shoved his mask in his hands and pushed him onto the fire escape. He looked back at you, hoping to catch a glimpse of how you were really feeling. Had his judgement not been clouded from the kiss, he wouldn’t known thta he has just royally messed up. Instead, he chalked it up to stress from the dance and left without a fight.

“Okay. By-“

“Bye!” You slammed the window shut and dropped the curtains. You waited until you heard Peter swinging away until you slid down your window and let out hallow sobs. You cried into your hands for a minute before pulled out your phone.

Elsewhere, Peter was bouncing his leg up and down as he waiting for Ned to pick up.

“Hey.” MJ answered.

“I just had my first kiss.” Peter said excitedly into the phone.

“I kissed Peter.” You told her, triggering your tears to start falling again.

“Dude! That’s awesome!” Ned declared.

“How’d it go?” MJ asked.

“I know. My face actually hurts from smiling so much. I like her so much, Ned.” Peter gushed as he touched his aching face.

“He doesn’t want me back. He’s only doing this for Flash. It was all fake.” Your voice broke and you heard a sympathetic sigh.

“Do you think this means she likes you?” Ned asked him.

“Then he’s an idiot.” MJ stated firmly.

“Am I an idiot for thinking it might? I don’t even care about Flash anymore. It’s become so real between us.” Peters voice cracked with excitement.

“I’m so upset.” You sniffled, wiping your face with the back of your hand.

“You need to let him go. He’s not worth it.” MJ told you.

“You need to go for her. She’s worth it.” Ned told him.

“I’m so happy.” Peter swooned.

“I hate him. He broke my heart.” You cried. “And now I have to go to the dance with him and act like everything’s fine.”

“I love this girl, Ned. She’s the one for me, my heart knows it.” Peter swore. “I can’t wait to dance with her tomorrow.”

“It’ll be okay.” MJ assured you.

“It’s gonna be great.” Ned assured him. Both friends heard a sigh from the other end.

“I hope so.”

Tag List 🏷

@a-villain-vying-for-attention @wendaiii @dorbiksbitch @t-monosapiens-h @badhollandfluff @silteplaittais-toi @thisisthebiplace​ @seasidecrowbar​ @spideygirl2003 @5-seconds-of-mendes @bitchylittleredhead @oh-whatabeautiful-parker @everydaymj @write-from-the-heart @blackpetalsmeandeath @electraheart-3174 @shawni-h @peterparkoure @sleepythighsweat @steebbb @traveleraroundsworld @averyfosterthoughts @bralessandflawless @viwihere @eridanuswave @the-greatt-perhaps @spidey-lillies @kelieah @danicarosaline @xroselights @xoxohollands @jannine00742 @itscaminow @peterisinapickle @starstruckgardenstudentzonk

[ohsupernaturall]

LAB RATS (A NALEY FANFICTION) PROLOGUE

I will try to dedicate every chapter to either an account or a person I like, because we all need to share the love. My first tribute goes to @lozkelly , we don’t know each other, but as I browsed the naley tag, hers was the first post and when I opened the blog, it was so much fun. So there we go. Please note that if you are tagged, I am not asking you to read. I just want to give you a random I love you (and/or) your account

Prologue

Nathan and Haley couldn’t remember a moment in their lives where they weren’t in love, and everyone in tree hill was aware of that. They had gone through every life stage together, starting with waddles in the sandpit at three years of age, until seventeen as he put a ring on her finger when she happily accepted to be his wife. But it was indeed an off match, for all their love, they couldn’t be more different. Nathan was star athlete of tree hill high school, leading the basketball ravens to victory in the state championship. On the other hand, Haley James Scott was the school valedictorian, who tutored students for the joy of it.

In this sense, they balanced each other out, and they evened the others’ extremities. Haley has gotten into cheerleading; realizing it was actually quite the strenuous activity rather than mindless girls waving around pompoms, and Nathan would occasionally pay more attention in class, not that he didn’t have his own private tutor whenever he needed.

Standing right below the hoop in the school gym; his own grounds, it was a win-or-lose moment; if he scored that basket they win the championship. And then there she was, Haley with a proud smile that beat the taunting of his opponent Damien West

“You got nothing, Scott, nothing!”

Nathan looked at Damien with a cocky smile, drawing strength from Haley, he threw the ball, without looking; his faith that the world will make it worth it, for him and his girl, was prominent.  The cheers were deafening, and Nathan didn’t need to look, to know that he had made the shot, when Haley crashed right into him.

He lifted her off the ground, into his strong arms, her breath tickled his ear as she screamed over the crowd “you did it, babe!!!”

“We did it!” he rejoiced, repeatedly kissing her shoulder, before he was hauled away by his teammates. Haley patted his back playfully as he was lifted on their shoulders, the whole gym cheering his name, and she joined right along.

The celebration lasted long enough, with Nathan high-fiving everyone in sight, receiving the trophy and stealing Haley’s hugs and kisses; those were his favorite. Then it was time to go home. Their little apartment was warm and cozy, not very luxurious, but it brought them together at night and that was what mattered.

It might have not been like that, Nathan was rich, coming from an incredibly wealthy family of three… actually technically four, before his sister had passed,  he had cried in Haley’s arms night after night when it happened; the chauffer was taking the fourteen year old to ballet practice, then the next thing they knew, the car had exploded, the monstrosity of the accident was investigated  for a long time before declared a cold case, ,many people ruled it to be payback for Dan Scott’s antics, their father, for many people had beef with him. Still, the fact that the kids paid for it, made Haley’s blood boil. Dan was remorseful for a month or so, but then he managed to bounce back as if nothing had ever happened,

Nathan on the other hand, was never the same; they used to play together all the time, along with Haley of course. As a matter of fact, it was her who had blandly declared that he and Haley had a crush on each other.

Of course almost hitting puberty and going through the awkward phases of; acne and hormonal urges for him, braces and frizzy hair for her, reluctance to see each other again, and a desire to kill his sister were there. Nathan and Haley have been best friends since they were three years old, and the notion of their relationship not working out would mean the friendship over. But why wouldn’t it work? They loved each other, more than life itself, always have ever since they met, a deep understanding ran through them and even their friends thought it hard to believe that someone would find their soul mate at such a young age.

So, one summer night as raindrops hit the road, he timidly whispered those three words “I love you” and Haley’s entire face lit up, she jumped in his arms and crashed her lips to his. Overcome with relief and joy, he had entrapped her arms under his, wrapping both arms around her and lifted her up, spinning in circles as the rain poured over their heads. It was then that they knew, forever was together.

When he had told his dad of his plans to marry Haley, Dan was appalled, for she didn’t come from money or status. Hurtful words were thrown around and as soon as his father had said “gold-digging whore”, Nathan stormed out of there, after he threw a punch to the old man’s face. Haley’s parents had welcomed him for the two and a half weeks it took to find a place of his own, also a small job in food service and a night shift at his uncle’s garage made emancipation easy, especially when drug addicted mother was added to the list, Nathan felt bad about it, he loves his mom, but she had fallen through a downward spiral ever since her daughter had died, especially when Nathan needed her most.

Their wedding was simple and special, Haley didn’t even have a wedding dress, and her mother’s wouldn’t fit, so she wore a little white sundress with slippers, and Nathan got dressed in one of the suits he wore for the fancy events his dad threw. Being poor may not be easy, but being with the person you love was worth it all, even those nights when electricity would shut off after they don’t pay the bills; and they would sit up all night playing checkers by candlelight, and the nights when he worked until he couldn’t even move, Haley would come back from her shift as a waitress and remove his shoes and overalls when she finds him collapsed on the couch from exhaustion.

As soon as they entered through the front door, Nathan grabbed her arms, spinning her around, so she would land in his arms; Haley sighed, content, as she nestled into his warm strong body. His hand snuck under her cheerleading top, calloused fingers running across bare stomach. Haley bit her lips, eyes fluttering and body tingling, she leaned the back of her head against his chest, pulling his other hand to her lips and planting soft butterfly kisses where his pulse is.

“Oh, Nathan!” she moaned, as he leaned down and brushed his lips against her jaw line; over a  beauty mark, finally reaching her ear and nibbling on the lobe “I love you”

“I love you too, Haley James Scott” he whispered huskily, his kisses moving to the nape of her neck and then down her back, all the way till he was kneeling, planting a lingering kiss on the “23” tattoo she had gotten for him; his jersey number.

Weak in the knees, Haley shakily turned around, Nathan’s kissing never stopping, planting them all around her waist, she scratched his back and head, folding in half over his shoulder. Smoothly, she took off the basketball jersey, as he stood up once more, pulling her with him, her feet lifted off the ground, Haley wrapped her legs and arms around him, so tight, that you would think they were conjoined. Nathan moved them both to the shower.

Haley’s breath hitched, watching the steady stream of water run down Nathan’s sculpted chest and chiseled abs, he poured some shampoo in his hand, massaging her scalp as she kissed his chest, right by his heart, once and again. He moved his shampoo covered hands down her face, leaving a trail of bubbles on her cheeks, making her look up into his sky blue eyes.

“My man played so well tonight” she said.

“Yeah, he did, didn’t he?” Nathan winked at her and she playfully smacked him.

“Babe, be serious. The scouts couldn’t keep their eyes off you. I saw one talking to Whitey”

He shrugged “That could mean a lot of thi…”

“And I might have eavesdropped and heard them say you were a shoo-in for a full scholarship ride to Duke” she interjected, eyes wide innocently.

“Are you serious?”

Haley nodded, squealing with joy, as he hugged her tight, lifting her off her feet.

“What would you do without me?” she teased.

“Die!” he said, kissing her passionately “never leave me”

“I am not going anywhere” she whispered sincerely “always and forever”

“Always and forever”

They spent the next few minutes scrubbing loofahs over each other’s bodies, on every curve, their heart warm and content. In his arms, Nathan held a woman who loved him in spite of all his flaws, who loved the worst in him before the best. He reached out and wrapped a towel around her body, after doing the same for himself, Nathan picked her up, one arm below her knees and the other right under her shoulder blades, and headed to their tiny room.

He dropped her gently on the bed, allowing her towel clad body to bounce on the mattress, and then positioned himself on top of her. Nathan rested his head down her chest, when he felt her tense up.

“Nathan” whispered Haley “did you hear that?”

“What? I didn’t hear anything”

Then sounds of shuffling came from outside once again, and Nathan sat up.

“Do you hear it now?” she asked.

“Mmhmm”

“Should I call 911?” she fearfully whispered to Nathan who was hastily putting on a pair of shorts.

“No, just wait here”

“Nathan!” she warned; her heart in her throat, making to grab his hand “Please!! Just don’t!”

“It is okay” he whispered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go.

The sounds from outside were coming closer, and Nathan hoped with his heart that it was the neighbor’s cat, it had broken into their house many times before, still, he took one look at Haley behind him and felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, cautiously, he made to grab the baseball bat in the closet. His hands were just twisting the doorknob, when a force sent him sprawling to the ground. Haley screamed at the top of her voice, pulling the towel closer to her body, their bedroom door had flown off its hinges, and in its place stood three masked men armed in machine guns.

“Shut up!” one of them growled, pointing his gun at her.

“Wait! Wait!” panicked Nathan, his eyes fixed on Haley “we don’t have money but take whatever you want, okay, just don’t touch h…”

Sharp pain exploded across his face, as the back of the gun collided with his nose, sending blood splattering in its wake, and Nathan saw stars; his hands went to cover the injury which momentarily hazed his vision.

Haley’s cry of agony was stopped dead in her throat half-way when their guns were once again raised in their faces “Please” she whimpered.

Her plea fell on deaf ears as another one said “get the girl”

Fear gripped Nathan’s heart like a vice, but it was drowned by fury surging through his bloodstream and he growled “No!”

Gone was all the horror of getting shot, Haley being taken away was all he could see. Nathan jumped up and tackled the man coming closer to Haley in great speed, not even shielded with his bat, which was thrown aside upon impact. Nathan had gotten in three punches to the man’s face, when the other two men ganged up on him, their kicks and punches echoed around the small room, all Nathan could do was curl up in a ball and accept the agonizing onslaught, grunting with every blow.

“Stop it” Haley cried in rage, jumping off the bed and on one of the men’s back, he yelped in pain when she caught his ear between her teeth, biting hard, the man threw her off like a weightless doll. Haley’s head rammed into the nightstand and she fell unconscious, crimson blood seeping from her fanned out hair, on her  

“Haley” his voice barely came out in an agonized raspy whisper, choking on blood, as his vision began darkening. Before he completely submitted into the abyss, one of the men made a grab for Haley’s limp form, disregarding her dignity and lifted her over his shoulder.

One thing Nathan knew for sure, he has failed at protecting his wife.