So this is my new story! I tried to force myself to wait a little long before I posted this, but honestly, I just couldn't. I can't even explain to you how excited I am about what I have planned for this. This story is a lot like Razor Sharp. They have completely different plot lines but the mystery and darkness of this story definitely mirrors Razor Sharp. I love writing angst. Don't get me wrong, I love happy endings and I love fluff just as much as the next person but I find more enjoyment out of writing the journey to the happy ending.

This story is AU and I have to warn you, Nathan's got some deep and twisted issues. He's not like a serial killer or anything like that, but he's got a past and a lot of secrets. He's probably one of the most complicated characters I've ever written and I had a lot of fun writing him. I hope you all love him as much as I do. Plus, we all know what the power of Haley James can do to Nathan Scott. ;) All of the other characters are pretty much the same as they are the show. There are slight differences but nothing too major. Also, quick note, if you read Razor Sharp, I gave you the summary of this in my latest update but I decided to change it up a bit!

Just like I was with Razor Sharp, I'm super proud of this story. I personally think this is some of my best work and I'm excited for you guys to read it. I have such a good feeling about this, just like I did Razor Sharp. Hopefully, y'all agree :) This chapter is kind of on the boring side but it's just because I'm setting the stage. I wanted to give you guys some insight on what Haley and Nathan are like!

Warning: I'm pushing the envelope here with some of the things that I plan to include in this story. This story will feature a lot of dark scenarios and things of the sexual nature, much more than Razor Sharp did. If things of that nature make you uncomfortable, I'm not sure if this story is right for you.

Haley James kept her head down as the wind brushed past her with a strong velocity. Her long blonde hair whipped around her, tickling the skin of her cheeks. With one hand, she tightened her jean jacket around her body while her other hand kept the camera hanging around her neck stationary. The sun was setting quickly in the horizon but Haley had no desire to return home. Her new home. A two story house lined with brown boxes just waiting to be unpacked. Her mother would be angry with her for not helping her unpack but at the moment, Haley couldn't find the means to care.

She continued her journey along the gravel path she had found while walking along the Market Street Dock. She had no clue where or what it lead to but wasn't that the point of exploring? So far, from her explorations, she came to the conclusion that Tree Hill, North Carolina was a far cry from Long Beach, California. For starters, the people were so much friendlier. She would need another set of hands to count just how many strangers had smiled at her while she roamed around aimlessly. The scenery was much…calmer. In Long Beach, it was all city lights, dirty streets, and jam packed beaches. Tree Hill was beautiful in its own right with peaceful meadows, joyous parks, and less jam packed docks.

It only took three hours of her exploration for her to decide that she liked Tree Hill. It finally felt like a place that she wouldn't have a problem calling home. She never was a city girl. However, she knew better than to get attached to this place. There was no telling how long she would be living there. It could be weeks, it could be months, and maybe even years…it all depended on her mother's job. Lydia James never could say no when her bosses offered her another promotion, regardless of what it meant for her family.

Haley's pace slowed when she heard the faint sound of voices and some kind of echoed tapping. She didn't have to look far to find the source of noises. A couple hundred feet in front of her was a basketball court. It looked a little bit worn, overused. Graffiti of various different colors painted the backboard of the basket. The chain net seemed to be barely holding on to the rim. There were a set of metal bleachers that looked exceptionally rusty, positioned right off to the side of court. Even with the oldness of it, Haley couldn't help but find it beautiful. The fact that it looked right over the river might have had something to do with that, but that's not what interested her the most. The fact that it looked like the type of place that came with a rich history was what really intrigued her.

Then, her gaze fell on two boys who were immersed in a heated one-on-one game. They looked to be about her age, but her distance from them made it hard for her to be sure. The boy facing her was blonde, his hair spiked in just the slightest of ways. His gray t-shirt was stained with sweat, clinging to his body. From what she could see, he was pretty cute. The other boy had his back turned to her. He was a little more built than the blonde boy and his hair was a dark raven color. His light blue shirt was also soaked with sweat. It was when he finally turned around that she decided that he was definitely the cuter one.

Haley's hands drifted to her camera. Gently, she popped off the cap that was covering the lens and stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket. Using both of her hands to grip the camera, she lifted it up and looked through the viewfinder. After twisting the focusing ring a few times, she finally found a setting that she liked. She clicked frame after frame as she observed their movements across the court. They were both so graceful. Every move they made looked effortless, like they weren't even thinking about what they were doing. It was hypnotizing to watch.

Her eyes widened as the raven haired boy suddenly leapt off the ground and slammed the basketball straight through the hoop. He dangled from the hoop for a few seconds before finally releasing his grip, landing perfectly on his feet. Both of their laugh's filled the air and she found herself smiling at the sound. She lifted her camera up once more when the blonde tossed his arm over the dark haired boy's shoulders. She snapped a few more photos before the incessant buzzing of her phone in her pocket captured her attention.

Securing her camera once more, she fished her phone out of her pocket and sighed when she saw her mother's contact picture lighting up the screen. Pressing the "answer" button, she held the phone up to her ear as she turned her back on the two boys. "I'm still alive, mom."

"Well, that's good to hear," Lydia James' voice came over the receiver. "It's getting dark and you have school tomorrow, you should think about heading home soon."

"Yeah, I'm on my way home right now," Haley muttered.

"Be careful, Haley Bob."

"I will," Haley promised before ending the phone call.

The walk back to her house took about a half hour. To Haley's surprise, she had no problems navigating her way back. The streets of this city were pretty straight forward, another stark difference from Long Beach. Haley paused when she reached the edge of the walkway leading up to her house. It was a quaint little house, so much smaller than the one she lived in previously. But it was the perfect size for just Haley and her mom. The burgundy front door, the white pillars, the brick walkway…it looked like the perfect house you would find in a movie focused on the quintessential American dream. Just like the first time she laid eyes on this house, Haley felt a warm and fuzzy feeling bubble up inside of her.

When she thought of home, this is what she pictured.

Haley slipped in through the front door a few moments later. The inside of the house was still quite bare. Her mom had managed to place the couch in the living room, along with the matching coffee table. Their TV was still wrapped in plastic and the plethora of boxes stuck out like sore thumbs. Lydia was sprawled across the couch, a glass of red wine in her hand. It figures her mom had already unpacked the wine, it was probably the first box she went for.

"Mom, I'm home," Haley called out as she began to head towards the stairs that lead up to her bedroom.

"Oh, honey, wait! Did you get some good photos?" Lydia asked as she sat up from her previous laying position, carefully placing the wine glass down on the wooden table. She was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a large t-shirt, definitely not normal Lydia James attire.

Haley stopped dead in her tracks and turned on her heels to walk back into the living room. "Yeah. Tree Hill…it's beautiful," She replied with a small smile, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

Lydia nodded in agreement. "It really is. I can see that you're anxious to go download your photos so I'll let you go. Just remember that you have to be at school by 7:15 to meet with the principal to get your schedule, locker, and all of that good stuff."

Haley acknowledged her mother's words before returning to her path up the stairs. Her room mirrored the rest of the house, littered with boxes upon boxes. The only thing she had found time to unpack was her bedding, her laptop, and, of course, all of her photography supplies. Plopping down at her desk, the only other object in her room was that clean, she turned on her laptop and extracted the memory card from her camera. It took a few minutes for her laptop to load the files but soon enough, she was clicking through the various photos that she had taken.

Her finger was fast at work, clicking the next button. Photos of little kids in the park, old buildings, and clouds flashed before her eyes in a quick blurs. Her pace didn't slow until she came across the photos of the two boys playing basketball. Most of the pictures came out a little blurrier than she would have liked, probably due to the fact that they were moving targets. She still hadn't mastered the skill of taking clear frames of moving objects. Sighing, she slammed her laptop shut and got up from her desk.

Shrugging her jacket off of her shoulders, she draped it over the back of her desk chair before collapsing down on her bed. Tomorrow was yet another first day for her. At this point, she was used to being the new girl. The first couple of times she assumed that role, she was a nervous wreck. The most common questions had plagued her mind- would people like her? Would she make friends? Now, she wasn't worried. Every new school she attended, she had found friends eventually. She eventually found a way to fit in. After all, she was a people person. Plus, tomorrow was Friday, so if things went terribly wrong, she would have the weekend to convince her mom to pull her out and place her into a different school before she was forced to go back on Monday morning.

~x~

"Welcome to Tree Hill High School!" A dark-skinned man exclaimed as he approached Haley. He was dressed nicely in a dark gray suit tailored to fit his body perfectly. One glance at him and Haley knew that he was the Principal Turner her mom told her she would be meeting with.

Haley lifted herself up from one of the waiting office chairs and extended her hand to him. "Thank you," She said with a sweet smile.

Principal Turner returned the smile and gave her hand a quick shake. "I know how scary coming to a new school is, especially in the middle of the year. I had moved around quite a bit when I was your age, as well. So, I recruited the student council president to give you a tour of the school and maybe become your first friend. Like you, she's a senior and she's an all-around social butterfly. It's hard to find someone in this school that she doesn't get along with."

Haley smiled gratefully at him. No other school that she had attended ever did something like that for her. "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

It was then that the door to the office swung open to reveal a very elegantly dressed girl. The first thought that popped into Haley's mind was that she was absolutely beautiful. Her light brunette hair was pin straight, her make-up was light but it accentuated her hazel eyes, and her dimpled smile seemed to light up the entire dimly lit office. The black halter top and tight jeans that she was wearing just screamed designer. Haley suddenly felt very self-conscious in her green sweater and plain jeans.

"I'm Brooke Davis," the bubbly brunette announced. "You must be Haley James."

Haley nodded. "That would be me."

Brooke smiled another voluptuous smile before turning her attention to Principal Turner. "I think I've got it from here. Come on, Haley, I'll show you around."

Haley practically had to jog to keep up with Brooke. That girl definitely knew how to strut down a high school hallway. It amazed her just how many people knew Brooke and how many people Brooke knew on a first name basis. It seemed like that every corner they turned, they were met without yet another person who wanted to say "hi." But these people weren't only looking at Brooke, they were also looking at Haley. She almost felt like she was a zoo attraction.

"So, this is your locker," Brooke announced as they rounded yet another corner. She pointed to a locker that was two over from the wall.

Haley glanced down at the schedule that Principal Turner had given her and sure enough, the locker that Brooke had led her to was hers. "Um, how exactly did you know that?"

"Principal Turner told me yesterday," Brooke giggled. "He filled me in all things about you. Like how you're from California. He even gave me a copy of your schedule so that I could show you exactly where your classes are."

Haley widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't help but feel a little…invaded. How much did this girl know about her? "Does Principal Turner have you do this with every new student?"

"Not really," Brooke said with a shrug of her shoulders. "But that's probably because we don't get many new students around here. In fact, I believe you're the first in two years."

Haley's forehead crinkled in bewilderment. "Oh, wow."

"Yeah, you're kind of a big deal around here."

She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly becoming desert dry. Remember how nerves on the first day of school wasn't really her thing? "What do you mean by that?"

Brooke giggled at Haley's obvious discomfort. "It's nothing to get freaked out over. People are just buzzing about you because you're new. Give them a few days and they'll find something new to obsess over."

"Never thought that my arrival to a new school would be worthy enough to cause gossip," Haley muttered.

"It's a small town, Haley," Brooke comforted. "Now, come on, we only have a few minutes until homeroom starts."

~x~

Haley wasn't sure how she ended up sitting at a lunch table with Brooke Davis and two of her friends, but there she was. This had to be the record for the fastest she's made friends at a new school, if she could even call Brooke and her entourage her friends. Brooke was…eccentric, Haley decided. Her bubbly personality could definitely get to be a little overbearing. The girl just didn't stop smiling. She had a mean streak though, something Haley had a front row seat to when some blonde "purposely" bumped into her. But, nonetheless, Brooke seemed like alright company.

Haley took a quick glance around the table at the other people she was seated with. On the opposite side of Brooke was a curly haired blonde. Haley remembered her name to be Peyton Sawyer. As far as Haley could tell, Peyton was the complete opposite of Brooke. Her face was pretty much make-up free, except for a scarce amount of eyeliner. She was wearing some black band t-shirt with a picture of an artist Haley didn't recognize. Farther down the table with a boy with brown spikey hair who was quite the talker. They called him Lips, or maybe it was Mouth? It was something odd like that.

She continued the sweep of her eyes across the rest of the courtyard. It surprised her at just how beautiful the courtyard was. The trees and picnic tables made it seem like they were sitting in the middle of a park instead of in the center of a high school campus. She could already feel her fingers itching with the desire to snap some pictures of this secluded area. Her survey of the area didn't halt until her eyes fell on a very familiar face.

The dark haired boy from the basketball court.

At first, she wasn't sure if it was actually him. It had been kind of dark the night before, she was quite a distance away, and his back had mostly been to her. But, by some unexplainable reason, she just knew it was him. He was sitting at a table on the other side of the courtyard, by himself, with what looked to be an untouched lunch in front of him. His jaw, which she couldn't help but notice was exceptionally sharp, was locked tightly, his lips pressed into a hardline. His eyes were narrow, his cold stare causing a shiver to run down her spine. He looked deep in thought, staring at nothing in particular. His dark hair was disheveled, almost as if his fingers had been running through it. The apathetic boy she saw now was completely different than the carefree boy she saw yesterday.

Haley found herself unable to look away from him. It was like some kind of magnetic field was keeping her eyes locked in on him. She found herself taking in the way his black leather jacket was tight against his upper body. Underneath the leather, she could barely see the outline of a dark gray t-shirt. His jean clad leg was anxiously shaking underneath the table, the untied laces of his boots bouncing from the movement. Her initial opinion of him still remained- he was definitely attractive.

"Nathan Scott," Peyton's voice caused Haley to jump, the trance she was in immediately breaking.

Tearing her eyes away from the boy, she looked back over at Peyton. "I'm sorry?"

The corner of Peyton's mouth twitched slightly as she fought the urge to smirk. "The boy you were just gawking at, his name is Nathan Scott."

Haley immediately felt her cheeks heat up. "Oh, I wasn't-"

"It's okay," Brooke cut in. "It's hard not to stare at him. I mean, with those piercing blue eyes, that jawline you could practically cut even the hardest object on, and not to mention that body." The desire in Brooke's tone was practically palpable.

"Julian Baker? Your boyfriend? Any of this ring a bell, Brooke?" Peyton asked with a roll of her eyes.

Brooke just shrugged her shoulders in the most innocent way. "Hey, just because I eat at home doesn't mean I can't browse the menu."

Haley let out a sigh as Brooke and Peyton began to bicker back and forth. It was evident that, that was a normal activity for the both of them. She tuned them out as her eyes once again drifted to the boy she knew now as Nathan Scott. Only this time, he wasn't alone. Seated next to him was a kid with sandy brown hair. She could see this new boy talking to Nathan but his face still remained emotionless.

Brooke stopped in the middle of her tyrant to Peyton when she caught Haley once again making eyes towards Nathan. She knew that look in Haley's eyes. Hell, more than half of the girls at Tree Hill High sported that same look whenever they looked at Nathan. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't waste your time, Haley. Nathan doesn't get involved with girls around here, well, high school aged girls at least," Brooke said with a snort.

Haley furrowed her eyebrows at that. "Meaning?"

Peyton snickered as she leaned over the table, her arms folded on top of each other. Her voice took on a much quieter tone as she explained what Brooke meant. "She means that Nathan has never been romantically linked with any female student here. However, there was a rumor that went around during our sophomore year that Nathan was caught in a very compromising position with one of the English teachers. About a week after the rumor went around, said teacher was seen packing up her classroom and then she was never heard from again."

"Oh wow," Haley muttered as her eyes widened in shock. That was definitely the last thing she thought Peyton was going to say. She knew absolutely nothing about Nathan, but she would have never pegged him as the type to have an affair with a teacher.

"There was never any confirmation if anything actually happened but my senses told me that something definitely did," Brooke declared with a smug smile.

"Senses?"

"I have a sixth sense when it comes to figuring out if two people have hooked up or not."

"Good to know."

"Yeah, so, I know that he's gorgeous and everything, but I would steer clear, unless you just want to get your heart broken. I've watched girl after girl practically throw themselves at him and he shuts every single one of them down," Brooke babbled.

"I still think he's gay," Peyton piped up.

Brooke scoffed at her insinuation. "You're only saying that because you're bitter about being one of those girls he turned down."

Haley tried to stop the giggle from leaving her lips but it was no use. Peyton Sawyer didn't seem like the girl who was embarrassed easily but her cheeks flushed bright red at Brooke's words.

"Oh, come on," Peyton admonished. "I was drunk and lonely and he just happened to be the only attractive guy at the party."

"If that's your story," Brooke snickered before shifting the conversation back to Nathan. "You know, now that I think about it, he doesn't get close to people period. You see the hot blonde boy that just sat next to him?"

Haley glanced back in the direction of the table that Nathan was sitting at to see a blonde had joined them. She immediately recognized him-he was the other boy she saw at that basketball court. Adverting her eyes away, she just nodded her head.

"That's Lucas Scott, Nathan's brother. Or, well, half-brother. Long story. And then the other guy, his name is Jake Jagielski. That's Nathan's childhood best friend. Those are the only two people Nathan ever really talks to," Brooke continued on.

"You forgot to mention how they are arguably the best basketball players to ever grace Tree Hill's basketball court," Mouth piped up from his spot at the end of the table. Funny, Haley had completely forgotten he was even sitting there. "I'm talking averages of 36 points a game, multiple assists, and they already have about three different Big Ten colleges looking at them."

Wait, basketball? She had seen Nathan playing basketball with Lucas yesterday and even though she didn't know much about the sport, she knew he was good. Why wasn't he on the team?

"Mouth…your nerd is showing," Brooke admonished with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry," Mouth mumbled, slinking back in his seat.

"Are Lucas and Jake as unfriendly as Nathan is?" Haley pondered out loud.

Peyton shook her head. "Not really. They definitely aren't the most open people in the world but they don't isolate themselves like Nathan does. I think that's probably because since they're on the basketball team, they're at the top of the social hierarchy pyramid that is high school by default."

Haley just nodded. She spared one more glance in his direction but quickly adverted her eyes when she noticed his gaze had now shifted in her direction. There's no way to tell if he was actually looking at her but she couldn't help but feel her body heat up at that possibility. Her mind was suddenly hazy with curiosity. So many questions began to plaque her mind- why was he so closed off? Why did he look happy playing basketball but looked like he just wanted to die while being at school? If basketball made him happy, why wasn't he playing like Lucas and Jake? Why did an attractive guy like him not want anything to do with all the girls throwing themselves at him?

She couldn't really explain it but Haley had this sudden urge to know everything there was to know about Nathan Scott.

~x~

Nathan's head was absolutely pounding. The loud music and the smoke filled air of the small basement he was in wasn't helping matters. Unfortunately for him, he was just too sore to move. Every muscle in his body felt like it was burning. He needed to stop taking his anger out at the gym before his body decided to disown him. Some slut by the name of Rachel was perched on the couch next to him, her lips rotating between kissing his neck and the shell of his ear. For the last fifteen minutes, she had been whispering sexy sweet nothings to him in a voice that she clearly believed was seductive, when in reality, it was actually quite annoying. One of her perfectly manicured hands was dancing across his upper chest but he was too tired to push her off.

His head fell back against the couch as his eyes fell closed, the fatigue finally catching up with him. He would let Rachel believe for a few more minutes that she was actually getting what she wanted before he rejected her…yet again. It was the same story with her. She would slink up next to him in clothes that were three sizes too small, he would smirk at her, she would flirt with him, he would sometimes flirt back but then she would take things a little too far and he'd have to send her on her way. He wasn't…prude…by any means, he just didn't mess with girls like Rachel. She would claim no strings attached only to turn around and say she wanted more. He couldn't give her more and even if he could give her more, he wasn't interested.

Plus, there was no telling how many diseases he would contract from sleeping with her. She was practically a walking STD.

Nathan wasn't sure why he bothered to come to these parties anymore. He hated parties. If he were being honest, he really didn't see the point in them. It was all dancing (he hated dancing), drinking (okay, so that he liked), and socializing with people that he didn't give two shits about (he wasn't much of a people person). But, when he opened his eyes and spotted his best friend and his brother at the beer pong table, he was reminded of exactly why he attended these stupid parties.

Lucas and Jake were always dragging Nathan to some kind of party on the weekends. Or forcing him to attend their basketball games. They claimed that he needed to get out and have fun while he was young instead of wasting his life away, holed up in his room. For the life of him, Nathan couldn't figure out how they could just go out to parties and live their lives without a care in the world. Not after what happened. He especially couldn't understand how today, out of all days, they could be smiling and laughing without even a hint of sadness. Today marked two years since- No. He had to stop thinking and he had to stop thinking now.

Suddenly, Nathan felt like the walls were closing in on him. The basement felt way too small, causing his claustrophobia to kick in. Brushing off Rachel, who, of course, gave him a whiny protest followed by a pout, he stood up from the couch. Ignoring the soreness he felt in his legs and lower stomach as he walked, he headed towards the card table full of various bottles of alcohol. Most of the bottles were empty or tipped over, the remnants dripping on to the sticky table. His eyes honed in on a half-full fifth of Tennessee Whiskey. Without a second thought, he grabbed the bottle off the table and turned on his heel to exit the basement.

Taking two stairs at a time, he weaved through the crowd of people littering the stairs. A few people shot curious looks at his hasty departure, but he ignored every one of them. He was used to people looking at him like that. Once he reached the top stair, he made a beeline for the front door. As soon as the cool night air brushed against his skin, he felt like he could breathe again. Twisting the cap off the bottle of whiskey, he brought the bottle up to his lips and took a long drink. The alcohol burned as it slid down his throat, but he welcomed the pain.

Nathan let his feet carry him across the concrete and down a familiar path, a way too familiar path. It was like there was some kind of magnetic field drawing his body in a certain direction. He knew where he was going and even though it was the last place he wanted to be, he couldn't stop even if he tried.

Twenty minutes and a half bottle of Tennessee Whiskey later, Nathan found himself standing in front of a green iron gate. The words "Tree Hill Cemetery" on the illuminated sign glared at him, mocking him. Once again, his heart beat picked up in speed and he swallowed hard. He hated this place with a passion. But, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't stay away. It was that damn magnetic field again. He lifted the bottle of whiskey back up to his lips and sucked out the last remnants of it before tossing it to the ground. The sound of the bottle shattering was lost in the loud howl of the October wind.

Taking a step forward, Nathan pushed open the gate and slid past it. He stumbled across the grass, suddenly realizing just how much alcohol he had consumed in such a short amount of time. He was dizzy and his vision was blurry but he forced himself to keep walking. He knew not eating today was eventually going to come back to bite him in the ass. There was nothing worse than consuming a shit ton of alcohol on an empty stomach. He just had to make it to the red oak tree located just over the hill and then he could stop. Just a few more steps. He could do this. He had to do this.

Once he reached his destination, he fell to his knees. He was back to feeling like he couldn't breathe. His heart puttering loudly in his ears. In front of him were two dark gray headstones, nestled into the ground. Even with his hazy vision, he could see those gray blocks perfectly. Grass and dark green weeds had started to grow over the stone, burrowing them even further into the turf. A surge of anger rushed through him. It was only natural for the grass to grow over the grave markers but it still pissed him off. Recklessly, Nathan began to yank at the weeds until the stones were no longer covered.

He sat back on his heels and just stared at the image in front of him, grass still knotted in his fists. It just wasn't fair. He should be the one buried six feet beneath the Earth's surface, not them. They were good people, he wasn't. Memories of that night flashed through his mind. He could still hear the echoes of their screams, the desperate pleas for their lives. It all still felt so real. Hot tears fell effortlessly down his cheeks, his chest heaving as a sob tore from his throat. Nathan despised crying. Crying was a sign of weakness and he wasn't weak. He refused to be weak.

One of these days, the guilt was actually going to eat him alive.

He faintly heard the sound of feet crunching against the leaves that covered the ground. Seconds later he heard Lucas' voice break the silence.

"I figured we'd find you out here."

Lucas and Jake were just about to start another game of beer pong when they noticed Nathan was no longer sitting on the couch. They immediately knew where he had disappeared to. Today was always a rough day for him, hell it was a rough day for all of them. But, Nathan was the one who always took it the hardest. Nathan had been on edge all day and it was only a matter of time before he cracked. They hoped that by dragging him to a party that it would take his mind off of it…evidently not.

Nathan glanced over his shoulder to see Lucas and Jake standing there, that same look of pity and concern written over their faces. God, he hated that look. He turned away, bringing his hands up to quickly wipe away his tears. A few pieces of grass stuck to his cheeks, but he just ignored it. "Well, someone should have made it a point to visit them today," He spat at them, his voice thick with intoxication and venom.

"Luke and I came out here this morning," Jake answered, cringing at Nathan's bitter tone.

"And you didn't think to ask me if I wanted to go?" Nathan barked, his words were slightly slurred.

Lucas and Jake knowing exchanged glances. Nathan had been drinking, but that didn't come as a surprise to them. Nathan had a bad habit of numbing his pain with alcohol.

"We knew that you liked to go alone, so we didn't bother," Lucas answered while taking a few steps closer to Nathan. "Come on, let's get going. It's getting late and you know the guard likes to do his nightly sweeps around this time."

Nathan didn't respond. He didn't want to leave. And if he were being honest, he wasn't sure if he could physically leave. His legs had gone numb from sitting on them too long and his head was spinning.

"Nathan," Jake tried. "Come on."

Still no response. No movement.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them. Nathan still hadn't moved from his spot on the ground. Lucas closed the distance between them and gently pulled Nathan up from the ground. Surprisingly, Nathan didn't protest. He stumbled a little and Jake quickly grabbed on to the other side of Nathan, holding him up. For the first time that night, they got a good look at him and the scene before them broke their hearts.

Nathan's eyes were glazed over, from crying or from the alcohol, they weren't sure. They looked sunken in, dark circles rimming beneath them. He looked paler than normal, all of the color completely drained from his face. Not to mention, he reeked of whiskey. He looked completely broken and it hurt to know that neither one of them could do anything about it.

They held him up as they headed towards Jake's car which was parked outside of the cemetery. They struggled to carry him. It was like carrying dead weight. Nathan was mumbling something but neither could make out what he was saying.

"It's all my fault," Nathan mumbled more clearly as soon as they reached Jake's car.

Lucas let out a deep sight and shook his head as he opened the door to the backseat. This, also, was nothing new. He was always blaming himself. "No, it's not. You know it's not."

"Yes, it is," Nathan whispered, his eyes falling closed.

Jake moved him towards the open backseat. "Nate, stop it."

Nathan ignored Jake's words, his eyes opening just a little. He found it hard to keep his eyes open for longer than a few seconds. He crawled into the back seat and laid back against the leather seats. He let his eyes fall closed again, feeling his head begin to throb again. "They're dead because of me. I killed them." Nathan murmured before falling into an alcohol induced coma.