Chapter 34

Haley sat in the passenger seat of Nathan's car desperately trying to hold back her laughter. She had already failed several times and Nathan was less than impressed by it. He would glare at her angrily and bark out a harsh remark.

"It's not so nice when the tables are turned, huh?" she questioned with her tongue in her cheek. Haley was highly amused by the sight of Nathan so worked up. Normally he was mister cool, calm, and collected and that was certainly not the case right now.

"Shut up," he grumbled and continued driving silently.

They finally pulled up to their destination and Haley turned to him with a gentle smile. She patted his cheek and shrugged. "You remember when I was in your shoes not too long ago? I was freaking out, sweating, wishing the ground would open up and swallow me whole and you know what?"

"What?" he asked softly in return already feeling himself calming down slightly at her soothing voice.

"It was all for nothing because that dinner with your mom went amazing. You have nothing to be worried about, Nathan. My entire family already knows you; the only difference now is that you're my boyfriend."

"Yeah which means your parents know I'm having sex with their daughter," he grimaced at the thought of Jimmy James threatening him as he passed the peas.

"Please Nathan," she laughed in amusement. "They knew that we were sleeping together a long time ago. My mom's initial reaction was cheering me on because you're hot," she winked.

"I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse about this," he groaned. "Hales! Your parents and Lily all know we started off with just casual sex? How embarrassing is that!"

Haley remained silent for a moment and took her boyfriend in. His nerves over having dinner with her family tonight were incredibly cute. He just wanted everything to go perfectly and for her family to like him. No matter how many times she reassured him that her family already did love him, he would just shake her off and continue on psyching himself out.

When she first brought up the idea of having dinner with her parents and sister he was all for it. In the time he had spent with the James family he had felt very welcomed and happy around them so immediately reacted positively to Haley's suggestion. It wasn't until he was getting ready for the dinner that he realized he was walking into the home as Haley's boyfriend for the first time and started getting anxious about the night. He was afraid they would suddenly hate him after all the drama that had taken place between him and Haley especially now that their relationship status has changed.

Haley noticed his unease right away and couldn't resist teasing him. He had done the same to her when she was freaking out over meeting Karen so it only seemed fair to return the favour. The jilting seemed to be doing more harm than she intended though and Haley worriedly palmed his cheek and forced his gaze to her.

"Hey, calm down. Just relax because this night is going to go great, I promise."

"Okay," he sighed after a moment and began exiting his the car. Haley followed him and led him to the front door. Her parents were expecting to her so she walked right in and to the kitchen where they figured they would be camped out at the moment.

She could sense Nathan's unease and locked hands with him in support. It was also her silent way of showing her new relationship to her family. Although Lily already knew about her and Nathan, she had asked her sister not to say anything yet. She wanted to tell her parents in her own way. No doubt if Lily dropped the bomb it would not be done in an appropriate manner.

Lydia, Jimmy, and Lily were all in the kitchen and looked up when Nathan and Haley entered. Lydia smiled questioningly at them and glanced briefly at their joined hands. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

Haley shrugged innocently at her mother and absentmindedly began swinging their hands back and forth. The happiness seemed to be radiating off the young woman."Nathan and I are together now."

"Well we figured that much out, Pumpkin," Jimmy laughed in amusement.

Nathan was still standing next to Haley in silence. She looked up to him and smiled brightly. He couldn't help but return it and feel his usual confident personality come back to him. "Haley finally agreed to give me a shot with her. There's been some shuffling at work and I'm now the general manager. That basically means Hales and I can be together out in the open problem free."

"Aw, that's amazing for you two!" Lydia exclaimed happily and moved quickly to hug them both.

Jimmy grumbled something under his breath and Haley kinked her brow at him challengingly. "What was that, Daddy?"

"I was just saying how he better not turn into a jackass again," he replied and received harsh glares from his wife and elder daughter. Lily on the other hand high fived him with a smirk.

Haley rolled her eyes at her dad and sister. They were being protective over her out of love but it was frustrating and embarrassing. "Trust me that isn't an issue at all anymore."

Jimmy nodded in understanding and moved forward to hug his daughter. He shook Nathan's hand next and offered a reassuring smile to the twenty something who had become nervous again. "I guess this is the part where I threaten you, right?"

Nathan eased up a bit and chuckled softly. "Not necessary Mr James. I know what I've got and it would take a lot to get me to screw it up."

"Good man," Jimmy replied happily.

Lydia had now turned her attention away from the happy couple and on to her younger daughter. She looked stern and questioning at the pretty brunette, waiting for her to speak for the first time. "Do you have anything to say to your sister, Lily?" she asked when it became clear the stubborn teenager was going to remain silent.

Lily shrugged half heartedly. "Haley knows how I feel about this. You're a cool guy Nathan and I like you, but you'll have to be around for a bit longer before I actually believe this is going to be the real deal."

"Lily!"

"It's okay, Lydia," Nathan interrupted before the mother's reprimand could continue."Lily has basically had a front row seat to the drama between Haley and me so it's to be expected that she's wary about us. Actually, I respect her for it because it only comes from a place of love for her sister."

"Well alright then. Why don't we just sit down for dinner? You guys are probably hungry. Now you kids can fill us in on when you went from not speaking to full on dating."

Haley happily took a seat at the table with Nathan right next to her. Lily was directly across from her and she laid a hand atop her sister's on the table and squeezed it gently. She hadn't seen much of her sister since she found out about her relationship with Nathan. She wanted to convey to her that their relationship as siblings would not change now that Nathan was in the picture. Unfortunately she had not done that when Chris was around and instead when it came down to it, would choose her boyfriend over her own family in a disagreement.

In the last months though she had learned the importance of her sister in particular. Their relationship had greatly strengthened and she had every intention of keeping it that way. Nathan and Lily always got along quite well and this disapproval the teen currently sported would pass and they would become close again.

Lily acknowledged Haley's gesture and smiled in response. She also managed to smile politely at Nathan, definitely warming up to him after he came to her defense against her mother.

"This is nice," Lydia commented taking in the dinner scene. "There's nothing like having a family dinner at the end of the day."

Dinner flew by easily with light chatter about Nathan and Haley, the family's daily life happenings, and reminiscence of old times – especially embarrassing memories about Haley much to her chagrin. It felt nice to experience such a well functioning family for Nathan. He basked in the opportunity to be in their presence and instantly felt at home with them. As a part of Haley's life the James family had now become a part of his as well and he couldn't be happier.

"Okay so explain to me again why we're doing this?" Brooke whined out in the car for about the twentieth time.

"Its memorial day weekend, Brooke. First official hint of summer and we have to celebrate it!" Owen responded enthusiastically.

"By going camping?" Haley chimed in sounding less than impressed as well.

Nathan laughed from next to his girlfriend. He had never really gone camping in his life except in the backyard with Clay. It would be an interesting experience to say the least but the amount of disdain the girls held towards the idea was highly amusing. He wasn't overly excited about the weekend but he could muster up enough enthusiasm for Owen because he was clearly excited about it ever since he suggested going camping as a whole group.

"Just focus on the fact that we get to share a tent, Babe," Nathan said to Haley softly so Clay, Brooke, and Owen wouldn't hear so easily. "And if it gets cold enough at night we can even use the same sleeping bag to keep each other warm."

"I bet you're hoping it gets really cold then, aren't you?"

Nathan shrugged in response. "What can I say? My girl's hot and I always love an excuse to be that close to her."

"Except you're my boyfriend so you don't need an excuse," Haley pointed out.

"Is that right?" Nathan joked and put an arm around her, pulling her into his side as much as possible.

"Can you two stop with the cuddling?" Clay groaned from right next to Nathan. "It's kind of awkward when there is a third person sitting with you back here."

"Shut up, Clay. You're just mad that this is like a couples weekend and you came solo."

"Not true! I'm not the only single guy coming and plus Lindsey is like my partner this weekend,' he defended.

"Then why did Lindsey decide to ride with Lucas, Peyton, and Julian? She looked awful excited at the prospect of sitting next to Luke for the two hour ride," Nathan smirked.

Clay's eyes widened in horror. When they left Tree Hill Lindsey had opted to ride with the other three saying that the car loads would be more equal and comfortable to travel in. Clay had never even caught on to her ulterior motives. "No, not a chance. I won't let her hook up with him."

"Whatever you say man, but I'd be willing to bet that by the end of the weekend Linds will be moving from sharing a tent with her best friend to sharing with her potential boyfriend."

Clay remained silent and annoyed after that. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window grumpily. The rest of the car's occupants laughed in amusement and continued on with conversation.

When they finally arrived at their campsite they all began unloading supplies from the car. Julian, Peyton, Lucas, and Lindsey arrived shortly after and did the same. The girls all sat back watching the men build their respective tents and found great amusement in watching some of their struggles. Owen seemed to be the only one well versed in camping and was providing the rest of them with pointers and help while still managing to pitch his tent in record time.

"Well it looks like I picked the right guy to be dating this weekend," Brooke spoke to the girls. She looked pleased with the sight of her large tent compared to the other guy's and theirs that were half falling apart.

"Nathan will get it eventually. He just has to give it a couple tries, realize where he's making the mistakes and then he'll be on the right track," Haley replied faithfully.

"I think Julian is pretty hopeless at this point," Peyton commented and the other girls looked at her in surprise. "He went out and bought all the camping gear he could find in the store and the best tent they had. It's from Japan and the building instructions are in Japanese."

They all laughed and watched Julian for a moment. All he had were about two poles leaning haphazardly against each other and the tent material hanging over them. The thing was one breath away from collapsing.

"Yeah, Lucas seems to be getting it together now," Lindsey said after a moment.

"Lucas?" Brooke kinked a brow in amusement. "Aren't you bunking with Clay though?"

Lindsey shrugged coyly and smiled at the girls. "Well I came with Clay, but he's like my brother. Lucas is nice to look and drool at so who knows where I'll end up tonight."

"Things are going to get interesting this weekend," Peyton chuckled. Brooke and Haley joined her, both recalling Nathan's ribbing of Clay on the ride up. It seems the raven haired man was spot on with his theories.

By the time the guys had finished setting up their tents and all supplies were in their rightful place the sun was beginning to set. The guys set to work gathering wood for a fire and Owen took the lead with actually getting it started. Once again, all the girls stood off to the side watching. Dinner began cooking easily over the crackling fire and everyone took seats around the warmth with beers in hand.

Haley set up her chair between Nathan and Brooke but halted when she felt her boyfriend's hand on her wrist. He looked at her for a moment and gestured to his own chair and smiled. "Sit with me."

Haley raised a brow curiously but happily obliged and sunk into the chair on his lap. She really didn't need any further convincing to be close to him. Especially with the newness of their relationship, both Nathan and Haley wanted to be able to explore it as much and as often as possible. This weekend was their first official trip together and both wanted to make the most of it. Cuddling together by a campfire was just another thing they could add to make the experience even better.

"Well aren't you two precious," Peyton cooed teasingly from across the couple.

Haley shrugged slightly and remained tightly in Nathan's embrace. "It comes naturally."

"Do you guys have to sit like that?" Lucas complained. "You don't see any of the other couples here being all PDA-y and cute."

"Shut up, Luke. They're adorable," Brooke defended in annoyance. Lucas was just pissed off because he still didn't like the idea of his two best friends dating. He would just have to get used to it though because Nathan and Haley being together wasn't going to change any time soon. "Moving on: we're going to play a game!"

"What game?" Lindsey spoke up in excitement.

"Glad you asked, new girl!" Brooke smirked. "It's called truth, dare, or drink."

"So basically truth or dare?" Peyton surmised in boredom. "What, are we in junior high?"

"Not quite P. Sawyer-Baker. There is one important addition," Brooke chuckled in amusement and reached behind her just inside her tent. She pulled out a large bottle of vodka and a shot glass. "The game is truth or dare but you can opt out by taking a shot."

"This is my kind of game!" Clay clapped his hands. Any sort of game involving alcohol was the kind he liked.

Brooke smiled extremely impressed with herself. She was putting a spin on one of her most favourite games and thought this trip was the best place to play for the first time. Her and the girls may not be thrilled about the idea of a weekend in the woods but she was determined to make it as enjoyable as possible for everyone.

"Who's going first?" Owen asked from next to his girlfriend.

Brooke surveyed the group and quickly locked onto her first target of the night. She nibbled on the roasted hot dog Owen had began dishing out while thinking of possible dares. "Julian, truth or dare?"

"Dare," he responded immediately just as Brooke suspected he would.

"I dare you to do a strip tease using the flag pole over there," she smirked in delight and gestured to the pole nearby.

Julian nodded in response. He knew that Brooke would come up with an outrageous dare for him and she delivered. He wanted to set the bar high being the first player of the evening. "With or without clothes, Davis?"

"As much skin as you're willing to give, Baker," she replied in excitement.

Julian stood from his chair slowly and kissed Peyton's forehead on his way to the pole. He silently asked her not to divorce him once she witnessed his performance. Much to everyone's amusement, Brooke pulled out her iPod and put on T-Pain's 'I'm In Love with a Stripper' to set the mood for her friend.

Before he even began Julian pulled off his shirt and balled it up. He tossed it with a smirk at his wife and turned to grip the pole in front of him. He began moving around the metal object sensually, throwing in occasional dips and spins. He soon undid his belt and shimmied his pants down to his ankles, kicking them away.

Julian continued with his seduction until the song ended. The chorus of laughter that remained ringing out once he stopped was enough to allow some embarrassment to hit the man. He picked his discarded clothing back up and threw it on again. He took a small bow and returned to his seat with a laugh.

Peyton looked at her husband in amusement and patted his shoulder. "Waita go babe."

He shrugged unabashedly and took a long swig of his beer."My pick now right?" he asked rhetorically. "Hales, truth or dare?"

"I don't think I can follow your performance there Julian, so I'll go with truth."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Julian smirked. "I'm going to throw a bone out to our newest happy couple of the group and give you an easy one. I've heard rumours about my boy Nate and now is finally my chance to find out if they're true. What is Nathan's favourite thing to do during sex?"

Nathan furrowed his brow in confusion. "What the hell man? First of all what kind of question is that for my girlfriend? Second, are you trying to call me some kind of kinky weirdo?"

"You were never going to choose truth so Hales was my only option! I'm not trying to suggest anything. I've heard about some of your techniques from women the morning after during our time living together. Just curious to see if they're for real because I totally took notes from those chicks at least," Julian chuckled out with a shrug.

Nathan still looked pissed off but sat back still. He looked at his uncomfortable girlfriend and glared at his friend. The question was creepy and he didn't care what Julian had heard from his previous one night stands, his sex life with Haley was completely different.

Haley looked at Brooke and held out her hand. "Pass me the vodka, I'm gonna drink for this one."

"The shot number has been upped to two, for dodging a question I would have loved to hear the answer to!"

"Fine with me," Haley shrugged and downed both shots with a slight cringe. The alcohol left a disgusting bitter taste in her mouth but it was better than divulging private information about her and Nathan's sex life. "Owen, truth or dare?"

Owen looked at Haley challengingly trying to gauge her. "Truth."

The other guys sitting around the fire began booing the man and ribbing him for being scared of a dare. He threw his hands up in defense and pointed at Haley. "You all know her! Next to Brooke, she probably has the craziest mind here. I really don't want to have to do anything like that strip tease."

Haley smiled innocently at Owen. "I guess you'll never find out whether the dare is worse than the question. How many times have you waited completely naked for Brooke to come home?"

Haley smirked at the look on his face and it widened when Brooke's loud, uncontrollable laughter echoed in the campsite. He tried to look calm but the embarrassment on his features was obvious. Haley felt accomplished with her question and the reaction she evoked from Owen. Brooke had told her on more than one occasion of Owens little 'surprises' and the way he would position himself sometimes.

"Probably seven or eight times," Owen shrugged to downplay his embarrassment. It didn't help that everyone was once again laughing at him. Waiting naked was definitely not a sexy, masculine thing to do. It had been Brooke's signature for a short time in high school but as a woman it was considered hot - definitely not when it was a big hairy man though."

"Dude you guys have only been together for what, seven months? That means you pull that weird shit once a month?" Nathan laughed loudly, loving the fact that his girlfriend brought the topic up.

"Whatever, man. I do what Brooke tells me she likes and she says she enjoys that once in awhile."

Brooke sat laughing next to him still and rubbed his arm softly. "You've got to be the world's most gullible man. I've been waiting for you to figure out that it was a joke when I told you I liked coming home to that."

Owen glared at the brunette woman beside him angrily. He didn't bother saying anything, not wanting to ruin his night by starting a fight over his petty embarrassment. If he looked past the moment then he could find his amusement in the situation and having been duped by his girlfriend for so long.

"Don't feel bad, man. Brooke did a similar thing to me in high school for Halloween. She got Haley to tell me she was into Tommy Lee so I should dress up as him instead of taking the Jack Sparrow costume I had settled on. I found out when I got to the club that Brooke thinks Tommy Lee is the most unsexy guy on the planet and she could barely look at me all night without laughing," Lucas shared his memory with a shake of his head.

Brooke smiled proudly at the memory and high fived Haley. That had been an awesome collaboration for embarrassing Luke. Of course her charade with Owen had been ten times better and more amusing. She loved her boyfriend but nothing would beat seeing him waiting naked and sprawled out for her ridiculously after work.

"Okay, enough about that," Owen cut in. "Peyton, you're up."

"I think I'll go dare," the curly blonde replied coolly. She wasn't afraid of a little challenge tonight.

"I dare you to climb the tree behind you. Naked," Owen smirked pleased with himself. He needed to come up with a good dare to redeem himself from Haley's embarrassing truth.

"No," Julian immediately interjected. "Never going to happen."

Peyton laughed at her protective husband and shrugged at Owen. "Underwear?"

"Fine," Owen relented and watched with the rest of the group as Peyton approached the indicated tree. It was a regular looking pine with enough branches sticking out to make it fairly easy to climb. Peyton undressed and left her clothes in a pile at the bottom. She reached up to one of the branches and gave a little jump. Her years of high school cheer leading made it easier for her to swing her body so that her feet caught a higher branch. She was able to move her legs so that the back of her knees were locked around the branch.

Like something out of an acrobatics act, Peyton lifted the rest of her body so she was in a comfortable sitting position on the branch, with her feet dangling lazily down. In another moment, she was standing carefully on the branch and climbing up to another one and then moving right away again to the very next one.

Peyton was now a good twelve feet off the ground and glanced down at her friends. They were all looking at her in surprise and she smirked. "Shall I go higher?"

"No, that's good. I don't want you to fall and kill yourself," Owen replied impressed.

"Okay well before I come back down I'll go. Lindsey, truth or dare?"

"Dare," the woman shrugged, she was in the mood to play the game. Plus it would be easier to bond with the group by doing some ridiculous act. She barely knew half the guys and the only encounters she had with Haley, Brooke, and Peyton were negative ones when they thought she was seeing Nathan.

"I dare you to show us all how you really feel. Kiss the guy you have the strongest romantic feelings for here."

When he heard Peyton's dare for Lindsey, Clay sat further back and prepared himself for the kiss about to come from his best friend. Considering the only other guy she knew on the trip is Nathan and they had only known each other for several weeks, it was obvious that Clay would be receiving the affection. Even though they had never been anything more than the closest of friends – almost like siblings – Lindsey would choose him because she's never been the type of girl to just kiss random guys.

His eyes widened in surprise when Lindsey bit her lip and turned to Lucas next to her. She gently swept her lips across his a few times before pulling away with a shy smile to him. Clay immediately stood up, throwing his chair behind him and stalked off to his tent. "I'm going to bed," he grumbled and closed the zipper behind him.

The campsite was silent for a moment and it seemed slightly awkward for everyone present. Peyton had now reached solid ground again and she still looked impressed by her dare for Lindsey. Lucas had a goofy grin on his face and Lindsey was staring sadly at Clay's tent. She didn't mean to upset her insanely over protective best friend but she just wanted to be honest with herself, Lucas, and the rest of the group.

Nathan felt Haley yawn into his chest even though she tried to disguise it from everyone else. He smiled down at her cuteness and stood up, clutching her bridal style in his arms. "And on that note, we're going to call it a night."

"What?! It's still early though," Brooke protested with a pout. "I still have practically this entire bottle of vodka left that needs to be finished."

"Brooke, we have tomorrow night still, we'll finish it then."

"I packed a separate bottle for tomorrow though," she pointed out and shrugged at the questioning gazes thrown her way.

"Well, either way we're packing it in. It's been a long day and we're both beat."

"Or you just want to have tent sex."

"Goodnight. Brooke," Nathan ignored her statement cheekily and waved to the rest of the group. Haley did the same and allowed Nathan to continue carrying her over to their tent.

They both slid into their sleeping bags and cuddled close to each other. Haley smiled lazily up at Nathan and kissed his chin sweetly. "Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too, baby," Nathan replied happily. He shook his head when his sleeping bag restricted him from wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. Without another thought he made good on his earlier words and climbed smoothly into Haley's sleeping bag. She didn't protest and he once again tried wrapping an arm around Haley, this time finding success easily.

The two fell asleep that way in the middle of the forest comfortably. Their first night on the camping trip had been pretty successful and they looked forward to spending the rest of the weekend together and with their friends. Going on a trip together seemed like a big step for them, but now that they're actually doing it, it felt natural. Their relationship and the milestones they were passing was all smooth sailing and after all the drama they'd experienced, they loved it.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Haley asked uneasily, looking around the forest they were walking through. Every side of her looked the same with trees everywhere.

Nathan chuckled at the anxiety in his girlfriend's voice. "Hales, we're walking on a path and there are coloured markers on the trees. All we have to do to get back is turn around and follow the same colour," he explained and pointed to one as they passed it.

While the rest of their friends were taking part in an afternoon fishing expedition guided by Owen, Nathan easily convinced Haley to break off from the group and take a nice walk along the trails together. Even though it was a group camping trip he still wanted to have some alone time with his girlfriend other than in the tent at night when they are going to sleep.

He held Haley's hand in his own and smiled happily at the comfortable silence between the couple. It was the little things like this that he cherished the most about his relationship with Haley. They were already so attuned to one another and it made every moment they got to spend together relaxed and calming.

To Nathan, Haley had become his air. She kept him alive. Everything about her invaded his senses and filled his lungs. Her voice, smell, touch, and presence were essential to him now and it was kind of scary. They've only been dating for a month and already he was completely gone on her. Of course add to the fact that they were sleeping together steadily for months before then it made sense how strongly he felt for Haley.

"Are you having fun here?"

"Yeah, it's really nice to get away from Tree Hill for a little while with everyone. Although last night with Clay made things kind of awkward for the rest of the trip," Haley responded to him easily.

"I know what you mean. Things were definitely tense this morning over breakfast between him, Luke, and Lindsey. Especially since she spent the night in Lucas' tent instead of Clay's," Nathan grimaced and shook his head at the petty drama.

"Oh well," Haley shrugged indifferently and looked up at Nathan smiling. "I'm focusing more on this trip just being about you and I. Their problems with each other don't affect us. As far as I'm concerned, this weekend is perfect because we're perfect."

"You're perfect," Nathan charmed and kissed her lips softly. He pulled away and then continued to guide her along the dirt path. Owen had told him which one to take earlier that led to a really romantic spot for him and Haley.

They walked along for a few minutes until the trees began to break away and they stepped into a small clearing and the Earth seemed to just drop off. Flowing over the cliff was a stream that created a small waterfall. Nathan heard Haley gasp at the beauty of the scene and he knew he had done well.

"Come here," he cocked his head and let her guide them to the centre of the clearing. When she stopped, he took both her hands in his and stared into her beautiful brown eyes for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied and squeezed his hands gently.

Nathan smiled at the gesture and chuckled nervously. He stepped back slightly and moved so he was on one knee in front of his girlfriend. Haley's eyes widened in shock at the movement and tried to speak but felt at a loss for words so she only ended up frantically opening and closing her mouth silently.

"Nathan what are you doing?"

He smiled at her cutely and shrugged. "Just moving us to the next step. I think we're ready."

Haley made a move to pull her left hand out of Nathan's grasp and he didn't bother resisting her on it. Her right hand still remained enclosed in Nathan's and she immediately began running her free one through her hair nervously. "Seriously? I don't think we are, Nathan. I mean we've only been dating for like a month! I know we're not the most conventional couple and we've done a lot of things ass backwards but this is a massive step. I don't want to rush into something and have it result in the end of us."

Haley was so busy rambling nervously that she failed to notice Nathan pull a small silver object out of his pocket. He loosened his grasp on her hand and opened her fingers easily before placing the small piece in her palm and wrapping her fingers back around it.

Haley stopped speaking when she felt coolness in her hand and looked down in confusion. Nathan was staring up at her still with a small smile on his face. She furrowed her brow and opened her hand and saw a small key laying in it.

"What?"

"I got you, didn't I?" Nathan finally allowed himself to laugh loudly.

Haley's eyes widened when she realized Nathan wasn't actually proposing to her. The gesture was done as a joke to work her up a little. "You're an ass!" she exclaimed and smacked his shoulder.

"An ass that wants you to move in with him," he again smiled at his girlfriend and finally stood back up. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind Haley's ear and gauged her reaction. "What do you say?"

"Well it's definitely not as big a step as an engagement," she spoke slowly. "It is still a step though."

"One that we're ready for," Nathan tried to reason with her.

Since Nathan's promotion at work they had been practically living together anyway. The only thing that changed was whose house they were spending their time at with each other. It only made sense to Nathan to actually bring up the subject of officially living together in his home. It was time for them to take that step and get Haley out of Brooke's apartment.

"How can you be sure, Nathan? What if we're moving too fast and it ruins our relationship? I love you and I don't want to jeopardize us over getting too excited."

"I love you and you love me. What more do we need?"

"Nathan..."

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you. It's a fact. You are it for me, Haley James," he smiled confidently at her and she couldn't help but return the gesture. "All I want is to be with you forever."

"Nathan, so do I," she responded genuinely to him, despite the words terrifying her completely.

"So then why can't forever start today? Move in with me, Hales."

"Okay," Haley finally spoke and nodded her head slowly. The idea of moving in with Nathan scared her a little but she knew deep down that it's what she wanted. Besides, she had lived with a guy before and it wasn't a huge deal. With Nathan it would be ten times better than it had been with Chris and she could see their relationship only becoming stronger.

"Yes?" Nathan asked for confirmation and when he saw Haley nod her head faster he picked her up and swung her around gleefully. "Thank you! I love you."

"You don't have to thank me, but you're welcome. I love you."

Haley smiled happily as she leaned further into Nathan's embrace. This marked the real beginning for them as a couple. After the last six months of drama and heartache, they had finally come to a place of serenity and happiness with each other. Haley would move in and they would finally be able to start their life together. Just like Nathan said, this would be the start of forever for them. No matter what happens now, they would face it together as one unit. That way, through their happily ever after, Nathan and Haley could face anything and come out on the other side better and stronger.

By some crazy turn of events Nathan and Haley had moved from casually friends with benefits to on the road to being together forever. Neither would have guessed that their dirty little secret would spawn the love of their life and greatest happiness of all. Life is funny like that though. It brings joy from the most unexpected places and Nathan and Haley sure were grateful for all the twists and turns of their journey, it got them each other in the end. All that mattered now was their always and forever.

The End

And there we have it folks, the end of Dirty Little Secret! Thank you to everyone who stuck with this story has I wrote through all the long waits between chapters and some horribly written sections. All the follows, favourites, and reviews meant the world to me! Special shout out to my lovely sister and her fiance, who's romance was the inspiration behind the plot of this story. Without listening to their drama this story wouldn't exist so yeah! Keep an eye out for OIFAN now as I try to wrap that up in the coming months and the new story I'll be starting around that time. Again, thanks everyone! Your support is greatly appreciated.