"'Tis The Damn Season" - Taylor Swift

It starts like the clichéd plot of almost every Holiday Hallmark movie— running into each other at the grocery store the day before Christmas Eve. He carrying a case of beer, she carrying a cart with nothing but Cap'n Crunch cereal and a gallon of milk inside of it.

She feels his presence before even seeing him— dressed casually in faded jeans and a grey hoodie at the end of the aisle. There's an ache in the air, and she knows it belongs to him. His heart, the only one she ever held, still broken from the day she left.

"Nathan," she says, his name falling from her lips in a whisper.

He turns. A smirk spreads easily over his lips, "Hi, Hales."

It is only then that the weight of regret reaches into her chest and squeezes her pumping heart. Haley wishes she never left.

They stare at one another, searching for all the words they'd never spoken. Even in the empty space, neither can find one strong enough to hold on to.

"Merry Christmas," she finally says. Her brown eyes fall onto the pack of beer in his arms, assuming it's for a party.

"Yeah," his blue eyes are bold and beautiful, "you too."

Another pause.

"I didn't know you would be in town," Nathan adds. "We're all going to Tric tonight—,"

Haley doesn't know who he means by 'we'. She doesn't ask. Doesn't really want to know, either. She lost the right to that information the day she left for Los Angeles, in chase of an invisible dream. Still, the lingering curiosity — and a hint of jealousy at the thought of him with someone new— is a painful rock sinking to the bitter base of her stomach.

"I'm staying with my parents," she cuts him off before he can tell her anything more. "I'm just here for the weekend."

Haley swears she sees disappointment flick over his face, but he recovers quickly. "Oh, nice. How've they been? I haven't seen them in a while."

"Good. They're good, thanks." She licks her lips, noting how dry they've suddenly become. "How are you?"

Nathan shifts the beer case in his arms as the weight of it becomes heavier, "I'm good, I've actually been helping Whitey coach the Ravens."

Truthfully, he wants to avoid any topic of conversation that may lead to the tearing of the bandaids he'd placed over the bleeding and bruised bits of his heart— and so does Haley.

"Nathan, that's great!" she smiles enthusiastically— genuinely happy for him. The grin feels foreign on her face. She's so used to faking it.

Nathan's smirk shifts into a shy smile, "Thank you."

His gaze then lands on the contents of her cart.

"So, Cap'n Crunch, huh?" There's a teasing lilt in his voice.

A rosy blush colors her cheeks, "my parents only had Raisin Brand."

She wonders if he remembers she hates the taste of raisins.

"Of course," he chuckles, "I guess you never grew out of your five-year-old taste buds, then."

A memory of their first date— nearly seven years ago but somehow feels like seventy-one eons— pushes to the forefront of her mind. He'd asked her to a fancy restaurant. They'd only been junior's in high school and he barely had enough money to afford the cheapest gas-station beer, but wanted to impress his beautiful, sarcastic, quirky tutor.

He thought she'd want a lobster or steak, something as delectable as the look of her lips, but Nathan was shocked when she'd ordered the macaroni and cheese; the cheapest side dish on the menu.

"You sure you don't want something different? You can get whatever you want. My treat." He'd asked. He'd saved and scrapped together money for weeks.

Haley shook her head, "nope. I love Mac 'n' cheese. It's food of the Gods."

Nathan chuckled so deeply, he felt light for the first time since childhood. He realized, then, just how different — a good different— that Haley James was. She was the rarest gem, a gold know one knew the value of, and he'd be damned if he ever let her slip through his fingers. Most girls he knew would've probably taken advantage of the expensive menu and ordered anything just for the sake of it— but not Haley. It was just one more quality that made him fall in love with her, even on their first date.

"Yeah, if the Gods are five-year-olds," he teased with a flirty smirk.

She reached over the table and gently punched him square in the shoulder. They met when he went to the tutoring center, asking for help with a paper. When he was assigned to Haley, he purposely started to flunk English, just for an excuse to be with her— even at the risk of getting kicked off the basketball team. Their tutor-tutee relationship quickly blossomed into an easy and fun friendship, where they'd tease each other often. But, it soon got to the point where Nathan couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss her— and so, one day he'd showed up at the tutoring center with a bouquet of flower and an easy grin, asking if he could take her out on a proper date. Haley barely let him finish the question before saying yes.

They dated for the rest of high school, and she'd even followed him to Duke University, dating for another four years of college. They had plans to move in together, settling back in their hometown once Nathan's basketball career ended due to a knee-injury— but it all changed when he watched her leave for a different life, far across the country in California.

The memory settles and stirs like dust. Haley closes her eyes now, willing it away, and laughs instead. "Yeah, I guess not."

"Good to know some things haven't changed," they way he's looking at her nearly causes Haley to drop everything and push him against the shelf of canned soup. Groceries be damned.

"Yeah," her words come out in another whisper.

The air shifts around them. The store is becoming packed with last-minute shoppers.

He asks her if she needs anything else from the store, and when she says no, he takes her cart and begins to walk down the aisle to the line of cash registers.

Haley's soft steps fall in line with his, making note of how comfortable it feels to be beside him. They look so much like the couple they used to be.

When they get to the register, Nathan pays for everything, despite Haley's weak protests, then follow each other out into the cold, crowded parking lot.

Haley leads him to the car she borrowed from her parents— unknowingly, parked two spots away from Nathan's truck, the tires messy with share a laugh upon the strange realization. Perhaps it is a twist of fate, but whatever it is, she knows this can't be the last time she ever sees him.

"It was really good to see you, Hales," he says softly. The air is the type of cold that fogs up the windows. Their cheeks are flushed. Her hands want to reach for his stubble lined jaw, looking for its blanket of warmth.

"You too, Nathan."

He opens her car door but she doesn't get in.

"Do you remember where my parents live?"

He nods, not trusting himself to open his mouth.

"You can stop by if you want… if you even have time."

He nods again, "Sure."

"Or, um," Haley licks her lips again, "if it's okay with you, I can come to your place. I mean, assuming you live in Tree Hill…" her words trail off.

She's speaking without thinking. Rambling like a train running of its tracks. Here she is, basically inviting herself to his house for a booty-call, not even knowing if he's single.

His famous smirk reappears like a ghost, "yeah. I live on the corner of Main and Steeple. House number 183."

Haley reaches into her bag and grabs her phone, typing his new address into her notes app. She hopes he can't see the way her hands shake.

"I'll see you soon, then."

This time, she throws her arms around his neck, savoring the feel of his body melting into hers. Haley kisses his cheek, quickly and softly.

Nathan stares at the ground, smiling silently.

Wordlessly, she gets into her car and drives off. Her smile never falters— she's thinking to herself how the road not taken looks real good now, because some how, it always leads back to him.

. . .

Christmas passes as quickly as the snow flurries. Haley's in a trance for the whole day, sharing gifts and trading jokes among her siblings and their children. Her sister, Quinn, notices— but Haley stays quiet. She doesn't want anything to dash the hope of what may happen.

It's almost midnight when her family leaves. When her parents go off to sleep, Haley sneaks through the door and takes the car. She drives without direction, soon parking between the Methodist Church and her old high school. She's not sure if he's awake but that doesn't stop her from knocking on his door; lightly, at first, but increasing in volume and rapidness along with the beating of her anxious heart.

Haley doesn't realizing she's holding her breath until the door swings open, revealing a sleepy-looking Nathan who greets her with that same damn smirk she could kiss right off his lips.

"Hi, Hales."

It continues like the same cliché in every plot of a holiday Hallmark movie; she launches herself into his open arms, and his fingers thread through the tangle of her honey blonde hair. Their lips touch and move in a familiar, unforgotten rhythm. A language only they know how to speak.

Clothes strip and scatter. Hands wander. Skin on fire.

Haley lands with her naked back on his bed— the warmest one she's ever known— and his arms land on the side of her, locking her in.

She curves her spine, moaning at the touch of his hands palming her swollen, yearning breasts. His lips attach to the spot behind her jaw, sucking on the skin of her jumping pulse. Haley claws his back and digs her heels into him, pushing him further as space allows.

He whispers 'babe', and it's her undoing. She's a thread unraveling right beneath his lips.

They collapse in a sweaty, breathless heap, with their fingers interlocked. She stares into the darkness, remembering the night he watched her leave— tears in their eyes. Why did she ever think Los Angeles could ever give her something more than she already had?

"What are you thinking?" Nathan asks, still catching his breath. His face turns on his pillow so he's staring right at her.

"How much I've missed your smile," she says honestly.

His lips curve upwards, "I've missed yours, too."

Haley turns to face him now, "do you want to know a secret?"

"Tell me."

"I've faked a smile for this entire year and nobody knew."

Nathan's eyebrows furrow— even in the darkness, she sees his concern. It's a light coming from his eyes. He listens to her intently.

"You're the only soul who has ever been able to tell when it's not real."

"It's real right now," he confirms.

She laughs, "yes. It is. You've always been the one to make me smile the most."

"Good," he leans over and kisses her lips, now turning into a a smile a mile wide.

Haley falls asleep in his arms and doesn't wake until the afternoon. Nathan is perfectly content lying beside her, watching her sleep and listening to her soft, steady breaths. He doesn't want to get up, and neither does she. They reminisce about how often they'd end up sleeping half the day after staying up all night talking and making love.

What Haley wants more than anything is for Nathan to ask her to stay, but she also can't ask him to wait. It wouldn't be fair.

As she lays still in his arms, she thinks about where they'd be if she never ran off for Los Angeles. They'd probably be living together in this house— she didn't get a good enough look of it last night, but she wonders if he thought of her when he bought it. Maybe they'd be engaged or married, planning on getting pregnant. A small smile graces her lips. They'd talk of having children in the past. Nathan always wanted a daughter with her eyes. She always wanted a son with his smirk.

She'd probably be teaching and he'd be coaching. A simple life, but they'd be happy. She knew that. Nathan always led to happiness.

It was the road not taken.

Somehow, they're standing at another crossroads now: she can go back to L.A, keep singing in dive bars, hoping to become more than a headliner for fake friends who are waiting to spill her secrets in books if she ever becomes famous. She knows, if this is the road she continues on, it'll only lead to another heartbreak— and not just Nathan's, but her own. Because to leave Nathan Scott for a second time would be the biggest mistake of her life: and she'd be making the same one twice.

"Do you think your parents are wondering where you are?" Nathan asks her, breaking her from her deep thoughts.

"Probably," she muses.

He drops a kiss on her forehead. "Should we get up? Are you hungry?"

Haley nuzzles herself into his chest, allowing her fingers to trace the sculpted lines around his abdominal muscles, "no. Not yet."

"Okay. We won't."

"Nathan?"

"Yeah, babe?"

She smiles at the nickname that falls so easily from his lips. It's like nothing ever changed. She always loved when he called her that; "I want to be yours for more than just this weekend."

He blinks, "what do you mean? What about California? And singing?"

"Everything I need is right here," she whispers. "I never should have left."

"Are you sure?" There's a sparkle in his eyes that wasn't there yesterday.

She laughs, kissing him hard, "I've never been sure of anything more. I love you, Nathan Scott."

He grins and pins her back onto the mattress, "I love you, too, Haley James."

'Tis the damn season.