Hello everyone, S9s great isn't it? And one character in particular, has inspired me to write. Obviously because this is the first chapter, its a little slow, but keep moving with me!

This story will be about Clay, im going to make this about Naley, Quinn, Brooke/Julian aswell though, might bring back Leyton if I can write it correctly!

Background: Hes not with Quinn, Brookes not married to Julian, or pregnant, Nathan has not been kidnapped, and is happily with Haley, Jamie + Lydia. Nobody knows about Sara, none of the shooting, Katie, etc has happened.

Summary: Clay's the stable pillar that keeps them all connected, but when he starts spiraling out of control, who is going to notice? I promise to make this about all characters!

If you've read, please review :) I love hearing a bit of feedback! x


He woke up. He knew his alarm will go off soon..the damned blackberry alarm, like the sound of doom to his ears. He waited, and heard his ringtone instead. His eyes snapped open wearily as he picked up the phone, and he shut his eyes again

"Hello?" he asked, warily

"Clay! Where you at man? My press conference is in half an hour!" Nathan's worried tones filled up his head, and Clay sighed

"Sorry man, alarm didn't go off, i'll be there in a few" he responded, and Nathan, satisfied with the response, hung up

Clay sat up, and took in his surroundings again..he was..in a park..on a roundabout?..Clay sighed. This was not the first time this had happened, and it probably wouldn't be the last. He had been waking up in different parts of tree hill for the past 2 weeks now, and it wasn't going away..

He called a cab home, wondering how much money he had spent on cabs this week. He showered, changed, cleared his head, the went to Nathans.


"Hey up Nate, told you I would be here, just like to leave you hanging sometimes" Clay said with a wink and a grin, as Nathan opened up the door

"Yeah yeah jackass your here now" Nathan chuckled "and you didn't wear jeans..im almost proud.." he said, with another laugh

"Thought I would dress up for your special day!" Clay mocked, and Nathan rolled his eyes, then looked at him seriously

"Thanks for, you know, sorting all the contract deals Clay..this is a great deal" Nathan smiled, watching Jamie and Haley with an instant happiness etched on his face

"Bobcats was always the dream Nate, and im here to get you there" he grinned, watching Haley come over and greet him

"Hey Clay!" she said, pulling him into a hug..he always had a feeling that Haley knew there was something beneath the surface with him, she always tried to look after him, nurture him slightly.

"You look terrible!" Haley exclaimed, examining him

"You look lovely too Hales" Clay laughed, raising a brow and chuckling towards Nathan "does she treat you like this?"

"You've got dark circles under your eyes Clay, sleep more!" Haley half laughed, half sighed

"Oh you know Haley, so many people to see..girls..and cakes.." Clay grinned, reminding Haley of Jamie's party last year. Haley nudged him sharply

"Somehow, you manage to pull off being an ass" she laughed, watching Jamie with Nathan

"Jamie's gonna love having Nate home this season" Haley commented, happily

"And you are too right? Big strapping husband lifting all the weights?" Clay grinned

"Oh you got me" Haley laughed, and then she saw Brooke and Julian, coming out of different cars, at the same time, avoiding eachother, but trying to walk towards the door

"Whats the story with Juju and Brooke?" Clay asked, looking at them, squinting as if the mystery would be revealed

"They broke up, something about Alex Dupree.." Haley mused

"Oh Alex..yeah shes quite..something" Clay smiled, with a slightly wink, and Haley hit him and laughed

"If you want to keep your head, I would only refer to her as bitch or tramp in front of Brooke" Haley advised him

"Fair enough..I also guess that its my responsibility to keep Brooke from attacking the tequila? Or worse..Julian?" Clay asked, wide eyed and rubbing his hand together

"If you can do that without being attacked by Julian, be my guest!" Haley grinned, and went over to Nathan, who was standing at a podium, looking important.


"Brooke..why did you have to make that walk towards the door so drama filled?" Julian was asking..somehow they had bumped into eachother

"Me? You were the one acting like it was something from your movie!" Brooke hissed, Julian sighing in response

"We have got to look like friends" Julian said, a hand clasped to his head

"Why" Brooke responded

"Because, this is Nathans day!" Julian retorted

"Like you care about Nathan, you just want to justify the fact you fancy ALEX THE SKANKY HO-" Brooke started, raising her raspy whisper to a frustrated shout. She felt an pair of arms behind her, and an interruption

"Ok, Brooke, drinks tables over there, i'll take you, Julian, you owe me for the near death miss later, goodbye" Clay started to drag Brooke towards the drink, and managed to sit her down. With a sandwich. Brooke looked at the sandwich and raised her eyebrow

"Really?" she asked, looking at it with a small, hollow laugh

"Promised Haley I wouldn't let you murder the tequila without food"

"Fair enough"


Clay had ended up at home. He had deposited Brooke home in a less then sorry state, had a walk on the beach with Quinn, and had proudly clapped Nathan on the back as he announced his new deal. He played basketball with Jamie and his friends, and then he pretended he was going home to see a random girl. It was tiring keeping up the "male slut" persona, but he needed to do it. He wasn't a basketcase, a charity case, or someone who needed "help"..he was Clay.


Haley grinned as she saw her husband in such a jovial mood. She, herself had witnessed how low Nathan was when he didn't have a consistent career. But she did worry about Clay. Clay's lifestyle was unhealthy. Nate had stopped the constant partying, but now she felt obliged to look after his agent. Clay had become a part of the family, his boyish charm and humour, the way he was with Jamie. The friendship he had built with Nathan.

And everytime she saw him, he looked different. Pale, thin, tired...

"Nate, can I talk to you a second?" Haley asked, deciding she needed to pursue this with Nathan

"Yeah Hales, whats up? Cant believe our luck..its our time!" he grinned, putting his hand on her cheek and stroking it lovingly

"It sure is baby..my album, your basketball.." she continued the sentence, her eyes locking into his, the eye contact still giving her the same affect. The way she got locked into his gaze, his deep, intense eyes.

"Whats worrying you Hales?" Nathan asked, not breaking any contact

"Worrying?" Haley asked, tilting her head to one side

"Well, your doing that shuffly feet thing you usually do when your worried" Nathan grinned smartly

"I love you for knowing that" Haley grinned back, and gave him a small kiss, then continued speaking

"Im not so much worried..just a little concerned about someone" Haley nodded, keeping her gaze to Nathan fixed

"Who? Is it Brooke? Because shes gone, and now Julians taking out his aggression on the tequila bottle..one of us needs to take him home soon actually.." Nathan started

"Its not Brooke" Haley laughed

"Who is it?" Nathan asked, confused

"Clay" Haley said, slowly

"What? Why?" Nathan asked, almost laughing

"He looks ill Nate" Haley commented, slowly

"Thats what about two weeks worth of drink and sex does to you I suppose!" Nathan said, with a laugh "seriously, don't worry Hales, he's fine"

"Yeah, yeah he is" Haley smiled, convincing herself. "So. rock paper scissors on who returns Julian to his hotel?" she asked

"Thats my girl" he laughed


Clay had taken a sleeping pill. If he fell into a deep enough sleep, then surely, he would just fall asleep, stay asleep, and not crawl into some creepy place to sleep. Haley was onto him, she had gazed at him with that sympathy about her. He needed to cut it out

There was a knock at his door, and he slowly crawled out of bed, the sleeping pills hitting him.

Quinn was at the door "Ah, thank god its only you" Clay smiled happily

"Only me? Thanks Clay" Quinn laughed, and he smiled at her, "Whats up?"

"I know this is a bit of a favour, but do you have a couch to spare? You see, when I moved in with Taylor, I didn't realise quite how many guys she brought home..vocal guys.." Quinn finished, and Clay chuckled appreciatively

"Go ahead, come in..theres a guest room upstairs" Clay answered sleepily

"Clay Evans..were you..sleeping?" Quinn asked, looking at him with fake wide eyes

"Resting my eyes.." he laughed, cracking open a beer..now he had to attempt to stay awake

"I thought you left Nathans to go and..see someone..I thought you were a longshot!" Quinn chattered

"Nah, just needed..ok I needed some sleep, is that lame?" Clay replied, with a grin

"Very..but refreshing to hear from you" she laughed "i'll let you get back to it if you escort me to the guest room" she said, laughing

"As long as you don't tell anyone I had a female in a separate room, my rep would totally go down" Clay grinned

"Sure thing bud" Quinn laughed back, swigging his beer bottle as they both climbed upstairs, slowly. Clay was getting more and more tired by the minute, all he needed was his bed..he could barely put one food in front of the other, ok he just needed to focus, breathe.. then

"Clay!" Quinn exclaimed, as he slipped slightly on a stair..she offered a hand to help him up.."are you drunk?" she asked, in disbelief

"No...just incapable of walking it seems" he grinned, and took her hand "thanks Quinn" he smiled, after he got up, stumbling to his bedroom and yawning, practically collapsing on his bed. Surely he had to stay there?