#LATE NIGHT UPLOAD HELL YEAH

[amoristt]

To Shelter a Storm | Nathan x Reader

disclaimer: i know nathan is not a good person. i am not putting a blanket over his actions in this fic. i, the writer, understand he’s not an innocent character and has made many terrible choices. im just answering people’s requests, please dont put me under the fire for it.

thank you.

Anonymous Asked: more nathan please!!!! Not for grazing fire part 2, can you write where reader and nathan are already into a relationship and he calls her late and she stays at his dorm, or he stays at hers? female reader obviously. thanks for the blog <3

i actually had a nathan fic in the drawing boards so i just altered it to fit this! hopefully this is what you were looking for, hehe. vulnerable nathan is my favorite thing- the lad needs to just *feel* for once, so i made this sort of gushy (even if it doesn’t start out that way) <3 enjoy!

reblogs + tags and replies will make my entire day as i put a lot of effort into this :)!

story continues beneath the read more. let me know if you can’t access it!

To Shelter a Storm

It was 4 am when your phone started to ring. 4 am when you groaned against your pillow, forced yourself to roll over, and nearly threw your phone as it blinded you with light. Though you couldn’t see the name on the screen thanks to the brightness you knew exactly who it was calling you, and it made your eyebrows knit together in frustration. 

If he actually stayed on the line when you answered maybe you wouldn’t be so pissed off, but when you answered and grumbled a ‘hello’ in the speaker the line went immediately dead. You almost threw your phone again in late night fury. How dare he wake you up for no reason? Half of you wanted to call him back just incase something truly was wrong (not uncommon for him, after all) but the other half decided fuck it, and you tossed your phone somewhere down by your waist and rolled right back over. Just because he was your boyfriend didn't mean you had to deal with all his late-night antics.

Ring ring, ring ring.

You snatched your phone so quick it astounded even you in your tiredness.

“What Nathan?” you huffed, sitting up. There was silence. “Don’t you fucking dare hang up.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

You flopped back on your back and pulled the covers up. “Why are you calling me again in the middle of the night.”

“Because I can?”

“Yeah, sure,” you rolled over. “Is something wrong or are you just insistent on making sure you ruin my sleeping schedule?”

“I don’t owe an explanation to you.”

“Jesus christ Nathan, stop being so stubborn.” If you from a year ago heard yourself talking like this to Nathan Prescott you’d have shit your pants, but he’d been calling you well late into the night for months now. At this point if he killed you it would be mercy. Plus he was your boyfriend now, you weren’t as scared of him as you probably should have been.

“Maybe I just want to make sure my phone’s working.” He sounded distracted on the other end.

“Then call one of your other late-night buddies. I bet Warren would value a midnight chat.”

“Shut up, you bitch.” Nathan spat, but there wasn’t any real venom behind it. Not like when you’d first met.

“I’m serious Nathan, stop calling me in the middle of the night. Or at least don’t hang up right when I answer the first time.”

“Why should I? You have no problem calling me during class.”

“Because the teachers don’t give a shit about what you do, Nathan. I’m not as privileged. I need my sleep.”

He scoffed. “Jesus fuck, ___, sorry you have to suffer so much.”

“Aaand I’m hanging up. Night, Nathan. Love ya’.” You pulled the phone from your ears, ready to press the taunting big red ‘hang up’ button, but his voice stopped you.

“Okay, okay, wait.” You waited silently. He huffed. “Just- Wait a minute, damn.”

“Wait for what?” Try as you might you couldn’t hide the annoyance in your tone.

You heard a clatter of movement on his end, followed by a sharp ‘shit’. He sounded outside, the wind making you pull the phone from your ears. “One minute.”

Rolling your eyes, you stared up at the ceiling and fought the urge to fall back asleep. When he didn’t come back for a minute you almost did, but was jolted back into consciousness when he began to speak again.

“Have you talked to Vic?”

Even though he couldn’t see it, you frowned. “Are you kidding me? You’re having girl problems?”

“Fuck you, ___! You know it’s not like that. She’s just-. She was supposed to meet me outside and she’s not here. I think she fell asleep, god damn it.” The frustration in his tone made you bite back another short tempered retort. “So here I am, sitting outside even though it’s fucking freezing.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” When there was silence you knew exactly what he wanted. “Damn it, Nathan. I just said I needed sleep.”

“Come on, don’t be a bitch about it. You knew exactly what you were getting into the minute you picked up the phone. Plus it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve snuck out after hours. Remember when you used to creep on me by the rocks?” He spoke about it like he was fond of the memory.

“Jesus Nathan you know I wasn’t creeping on you.” You ran a hand through your hair and sighed. “Fine. Fine. But only for like, 10 minutes. That’s it, then I come back and you get to freeze your ass off alone for however long you want.”

“Awesome. Hurry the hell up.”

“Whatever.”

Sneaking out of your room was not an issue. You’d done it so many time’s at this point you were more than confident about you’re ‘hiding behind walls’ skills- not that it mattered. At most there was usually only one guard keeping watch and she was a lousy one at that, leaning against walls on her phone or chilling in one of the lounge chairs. Once she fell asleep and you fought the urge to write on her face. Sometimes, though, there was just no one. They ‘trusted’ the students enough to make good choices, and you were living proof that the honor code was complete bullshit. It worked out in your favor, though, so you couldn’t complain.

Tonight was one of the nights where the halls were clear of any security guards, so it was an easy trip opening one of the windows and hopping out so you wouldn’t trigger the system alarm settled on the dorms. Apparently someone had broken into one of the rooms months ago and no one ever said a thing, just quietly installed system alarms onto the doors and pretended like it was mandatory.

“It’s for the students safety!” Said Principle Well’s. “You can rest easy now!”

The only reason you learned there was a break in was from one of your friends who happened to know the dude responsible for it, and you asked her to smack him for you since he made it that much harder to sneak out at night. Thankfully the windows were overlooked which was dumb because they were even easier to climb out of than get out the door. Plus there was one right next to your room.

Outside was cold and biting but you didn’t mind, huddling your arms together for a chance of warmth as you snaked around the building and made your way past the front doors, then the hedges surrounding, and finally out towards the fountain. You felt exposed beneath the orange streetlight but you knew no one was outside paying attention anyways. 

Nathan, like expected, was sitting on the edge of the fountain looking around like he was in trouble. It made you shake your head in a sort of disapproving way, the dude needed to lighten up for once in his life. Then again, maybe he shouldn't. You knew some shit on Nathan and perhaps it was for the best he kept his guard up at all times. Looking over his shoulder he saw you and leaned back, waving you to come closer, and you did.

“Hope you’re happy.” you mumbled, plopping down next to him and huffing. “It’s so fucking cold out. You owe me for this, Prescott.”

“No I don’t.” He said nonchalantly. You gave a defeated laugh and shook your head again.

“No, you don’t.”

There was a silence and immediately you picked something up.

“Were you smoking?” you asked, propping your elbows up and resting your chin on your hands.

“I was but I ran out.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, staring up at the sky for a minute before looking back down at you. “I thought Vic was coming so I just blew through mine. She usually brings more.”

You laughed again, licking at your lips. “Don’t you ever get tired of smoking?” You knew the answer but you asked anyways. He shrugged curtly, and you frowned. For someone who couldn’t relax a moment in his life (save for when he was almost dead-drunk) he was being oddly quiet. Usually at night he talked a lot, much more than when he did when he was around students. Maybe the solitude made him feel more open.

Leaning back to look at him, you sighed. “Everything okay?” Now it was his turn to hunch forward, but instead of just relaxing he ran his hands rather roughly through his hair. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything.” he grunted, and for a moment you almost forgot who he was and went to rub his back. “Everything’s always wrong.”

“Even us?” You watched him from the corners of your eyes, listening to the fountain behind you. It was obvious what his answer would be, but you knew him. Remind him some things are good.

Nathan swallowed and let his hands fall back down onto his lap.

“We’re good.”

Then, you did reach out, touch tentatively at the area between his shoulder blades. For just a moment you could feel him tense beneath your touch but before you had the chance to pull away he managed to relax, even leaned into the feeling. You flattened your palm and gently ran it down, then up. He rolled his shoulders.

“Good.” You whispered. Leaning forward so that you could see his expression was a dangerous move given his spontaneous nature but you did it anyways. Something was eating at him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

For a minute he shook his head, then he gave a defeated huff. His reply was almost entirely what you expected it to be:

“Dad.” You fought the urge to ball your fists against his upper back when he kept going. “Son of a bitch threatened me. Again.”

Ah, yes, Mr. Prescott. The Myth, the man, the legend, the absolute asshole. You didn’t know a whole lot about him since you spared Nathan the awkward and spiteful conversation, but from you could gather he was a strictly businessman. No if’s, and’s, or buts, and definitely no ‘no’s. He was a verbally abusive jerk who apparently enjoyed picking on Nathan’s choice of habits, and even though part of you could agree that they weren’t what he needed, you hated the fact that his father used cold threats rather than actually trying to reach out and help him. He was just as much to blame as Nathan was for his son’s horrible life style.

But, still, despite Nathan’s anger, despite his hate and hurt, you loved him. So you continued to rub his back. He wasn’t perfect but he’s what you wanted, and you’d made that choice a year ago. 

“What a dick.” you murmured, and Nathan nodded. For a time there was another silence until you broke it. “Hey, it’s cold out here. Do you maybe wanna head inside?” You almost couldn’t recognize the softness in your tone but he could, and he nodded again. For someone as explosive as he was, someone who despised being ‘talked down to’ and being ‘treated like a child’, he responded to softness well. You’d never bring his attention to it but he followed kindness like a moth follows light.

He didn’t make a move to get up until you did, and when you were both standing you took the chance to lean up and place a chaste kiss on his cheek. He still smelled like weed but you didn’t say anything. He didn’t respond to the action and you thought maybe for a moment it made him upset for some unknown reason, but then, without meeting your gaze, he pulled you in for a hug.

His hugs weren’t comfortable, you’d learned. He was uncertain even after months of doing so, unsure where to rest his hands and where exactly to wrap his arms around. He was bony and angular and sometimes it felt like just straight up hugging stone, but this was Nathan. The hateful, uncaring and menacing Prescott with a chip on his shoulder, and he was hugging you, at least making an effort to be affectionate, to be docile. So, you wrap your arms right back around him. You lean your head against his chest and close your eyes, and you sigh against his collarbones. He could use the warmth.

Then, just as it began, he pulls away. You’ve also learned that he isn’t a fan of long hugs. He’d never given you a reason why but you guessed it had something to do with his issue about touching. It was confusing at times- when you two were alone in the other’s room he couldn’t get his hands off of you, rather it be cuddling or ‘other things’, but outside of that he bristled like a porcupine when you so much as ran your fingers over his own. It wasn’t because he was embarrassed of you, and you knew that for a fact when he kissed you in front of some kid you’d never met before to prove a point. He just had… Issues. Deep rooted issues that you fully intended on helping him smooth out.

“Yours or mine?” You asked softly, looking up at him, giving him the choice. Suddenly he lowered his head and groaned in shame.

“Yours,” He said. “I somehow managed to fucking lock myself out for the night.” You put a hand over your mouth to muffle a laugh and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, asshole. It’s so funny.”

“It is funny!” You giggled. “How did you manage that?”

He kicked at the concrete beneath his feet, and spoke quietly, quickly. “The window closed behind me.”

A burst of laughter made it’s way out of you and you leaned forward for a moment, imaging the look of ‘fuck’ on his face when he heard the lock click behind him. Nathan Prescott, the master of sneaking out and being shady, got outsmarted by a window.

“Stupid fucking alarm systems.” He fumed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “If I wasn’t already in trouble I’d just walk the fuck in. Screw everyone trying to sleep.”

You laughed again. “Is that why you were meeting with Victoria?”

He rolled his eyes. “I was gonna’ call you at first but you,” He used finger quotations, “need your beauty sleep.”

It warmed you to think that he considered your comfort over his own, even if it was for a brief time only. “Maybe if you didn’t call me so often at night I wouldn’t complain as much.”

“Yeah well, too bad.” He mumbled, and there it was. He was right back to being himself. “So are we gonna’ go or?”

“Yeah, but I have to warn you, the window might just lock you out again.”

“Shut the hell up.”

The window held up it’s end for the night, remaining open for the duration of your trip and up to when you two climbed inside. It was funny watching him move quicker than usual, like a person crawling out of a broken elevator. When he was up on his feet he smugly grinned at you and led you to your own dorm. Just like when you left there wasn’t a soul up and moving around except for you two. It was alluring, almost, knowing that in a building of nearly 100+ kids you two were probably the only ones awake. Everything was silent, almost echoing when he opened your door and walked in, finding his way to bed and falling down onto it face first.

“Graceful.” You teased, sitting beside him. He rolled onto his side and welcomed you to nestle against him. “And chivalrous.”

“”Fuck off,” He said, and just like earlier there was no bite to his tone. “I’m tired.”

“Climbing into a window really took that much out of you?” You settled next to him, sitting up and he found his way against your side. You wrapped your arms around him. In the course of your relationships you learning something shocking: Nathan was a cuddler behind closed doors. Well, that, and the realization that he liked to be the little spoon. You had no issue with it- he liked to feel protected and you liked having something to wrap your arms around. Everyone wins.

Since his head was resting on your chest you couldn’t see his face, but you just knew it was a glare at the disgruntled huff that left his lips. You sighed and ran your hand over the top of his hair, letting him relax against you.

“Come on Nathan,” you cooed. “You know I’m only joking.”

“I know.” He replied quietly, and if you hadn’t been with him for as long as you were you’d be surprised at the lack of anger in his tone. “I’m just… I don’t know. My dad’s so far up my ass I can almost taste the keyboard he uses type up email threats.”

You grimaced. “That’s gross.”

“Yeah, you’re fuckin’ telling me.”

“It’ll get better.” you said, even though you knew those weren’t the words he wanted to hear. He scoffed but didn’t move away.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure they will.” you could almost hear him rolling his eyes. “Things will get better when I’m 40 and have kids of my own to fuck up.”

“Don’t say that,” you frowned. “They’ll get better long before that. When school's out we can-...” you sighed, licked at your lips nervously, and said something that had been weighing at you for months. “We can run away.”

The silence was deafening.

“Run away?” He suddenly whispered, and it wasn’t really a question. It sounded like he was playing the idea in his head, imagining what it would be like.

“Yeah,” you breathed, petting his hair soothingly. “We can get out of here. Me and you, and Victoria if she wants to come.”

Victoria used to piss you off, made you feel threatened. She was beautiful and had more years of experience with Nathan than you did, knew secrets you could only hope to wonder about, could pick him out of a crowd blindfolded. Yes, she used to make you feel so small, but it changed when Nathan always came back to you. He kissed you, held you, loved you, and that was huge. Love wasn’t something he thought he could feel, but it was there, and it was for you. When you finally grasped that concept Victoria wasn’t a problem anymore. If anything you welcomed her- Nathan could use all the open arms and outlets he could get.

“Where would we go?” Nathan sounded interested now, and your heart lifted at the thought of him actually taking your statement into consideration.

You leaned back, stared up at the ceiling. “Anywhere,” you said. “And everywhere.” He shifted against you and you finally felt him relax. You smiled. “Sound good?”

“Hell yeah.” He said with a breath, and you could hear his exhausted smile. “No more shitty blackwell, no more shitty Arcadia Bay, and best of all no more shitty dad.”

You giggled in tired delight, feeling your eyes grow heavy. “We’ll see everything together, won’t we?”

When Nathan said something, slurred and soft, you almost asked him to repeat himself. But, you stopped yourself having been in this exact spot so many times- he’d fallen asleep. He always had a habit of saying things just as he was passing out and at times it annoyed you- you wanted to know what he had said, but other times it was endearing, like he just couldn’t keep himself awake but also wanted to continue your useless conversation. You warmed up at the thought of knowing Nathan did these things- things that no one else but you would know.

You relished in Nathan’s eased state of mind, his head tucked beneath your chin as you pet over his hair. No one knew him like you knew him, knew how small he could be when he didn’t have his walls built sky high. No one knew how easy he fell apart, or molded against you. You were the only one who knew that when he fell asleep peacefully, not induced from a narcotic or drug, he looked like an angel. So relaxed, so peaceful. No one knew he sometimes talks in his sleep, or that his favorite sleeping position (when alone) is on his stomach.

No one would get to know him like you, and it was an oddly possessive but calming thought. Only you could wrap your arms around him, feel him melt against your body as he let you hold him. His anger can only last for so long, you’ve picked up. He burns out quicker than he’d like to admit. He sometimes thinks he’s indestructible, that he’s a wildfire that can burn forever. But, even the mightiest fires can be doused. Even the harshest of storms have a calm. After struggling to learn him and his ways, you figured it out. This, curled up beside you and vulnerable, was his calm.

You leaned your head back against the headboard. It was 5:30 am now, you’d be up for school in less than two hours, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move. You could sleep sitting up just fine. You didn’t want to risk moving and waking him up. Instead, you imagined a better time. A time where he wasn’t calling you in the middle of the night, masking a break down in bitter laughter or drugs. You imagined a time where you’d hop in his car, one bag packed each, and Nathan would hit the gas pedal so hard the entire car would jerk with it’s start up. It wouldn’t matter who stared, or pointed. The two of you were never coming back.

Now leaving Arcadia Bay.

You could almost see it behind your eyes when they closed, and boy was it a wonderful sight. Long day’s and even longer nights with him. So many sights to see, so many things to do without the chains of Nathan’s father breathing down his neck. No one could tell either of you what to do when you would be out on the road. You knew it would be hard. He was hard. He was loud and irrational and at times tiresome but it always came back around when he’d shove his pride to the side and settle next to you, apologizing, trying to get better. He was always trying to get better. Even now you could pick out the differences in his demeanor since when you’d first met him. He wasn’t as quick to argue with you anymore. He still had trouble believing he was in the wrong but he’d progressed in listening to you, and just him trying was enough to let you believe he could get past all of his emotional baggage.

Now leaving Arcadia Bay.

It was almost so close you could touch it, reach out and drag your fingers over the old and weather-worn sign. You could almost hear Nathan sitting in the driver's seat beside you, asking where you wanted to go first. It was a warm and inviting image and when it lulled you to sleep, you smiled, pet his hair again. The last thing you heard was his sleepy noise of content, and the last thing you felt was his arm squeeze you just a bit tighter.