A/N: I kind of plan on making this either a bunch of unrelated one-shots about Clayley, or a continuation fiction about them (though I plan on naming it all The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions)…I will leave that distinction up to you guys, though.

Disclaimer: These characters in no way, shape, or form belong to me. I simply enjoy playing around with them from time to time, for absolutely no other reason than they get in my head and don't leave until I write it down. The song and lyrics depicted in this are also not mine. They are, however, sung beautifully by a man named Danny Gokey and I would urge you all to go and listen to this song if you have not, yet.

I Will Not Say Goodbye

Clay watched until he had enough; until the mere act of watching became unbearable. He knew he should have intervened before when he had first begun to notice the signs of her dissent, after all it was not very long ago that he himself had been the one everyone watched slip away. But something kept him at a distance, some innate part of himself that said it was Nathans job, and his job solely, to bring her back from the brink.

He stepped into the night letting the chill of the air wash over him in a calming manner, allowing his thoughts to compose themselves. And when he spotted her shivering on a beach towel not too far from where he stood he paused for a moment so his brain could play catch up to his eyes.

He walked up behind her as silently as he could, though he doubted any amount of noise he made could break through the wall she had up at the moment. "Is this seat taken?" he ventured softly, finding it odd that the words came out in a hushed tone he did not recall resolving to use.

When he spoke she glanced up at him with puffy eyes and lips that, from what he could discern in the moonlight, appeared crimson red. Clay's mind began to drift until she bent her head forward in an almost imperceptible way and returned her gaze seaward.

"What are you doing out here, Clay?" she questioned in a way that made it clear she was accusing him of something.

He opted for sarcasm in an attempt to make light of what was sure to be a very dark conversation. "Well you see if you look behind you there is this really big house…I kind of own it." He thought he may have seen her lip quiver in the tiniest attempt of a smile but couldn't be positive.

She slapped him on the arm and added, "You know what I mean!"

He sighed, "Hales, you got to stop doing this."

She turned toward him so venerable and completely, maddeningly, adorable in that moment that he almost regretted opening up his big mouth and making it THAT conversation, but he knew she needed it, even if she didn't want it.

"Stop doing what?" she countered with a look in her eyes that managed to convey both her pleading for help and the challenge to leave things alone.

"Watching your life pass you by. Look, I know what you are going through, probably better than anyone, and I know that it is complete hell because every morning you wake up and something reminds you of exactly how much you lost. And nothing seems fair and you get pissed and you wonder if God really does exist, and if he does than what in the hell did you ever do to deserve something so incredibly awful as this to happen to you."

"And you are the one they sent to help me feel better?" she joked, and for the briefest of moments he saw a glimpse of the Haley he knew and sorely missed.

"Obviously, I'm Mr. Optimism, have you never noticed?"

Haley smiled at him and then looked down at her feet; he could see the tears welling up in her eyes begging for escape. When she finally looked up at him she looked so completely lost that he wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and promise her things he had no business promising another mans wife.

"Well, Clay, you seem okay. Tell me what is the big secret to moving on. How do you say goodbye to someone who means everything in the world to you."

He reached out and touched her hand. "That's the thing, Hales, you don't have to say goodbye."

She looked at him as though he had grown a third eye. "That doesn't make any sense, Clay. She's gone and she isn't coming back, how is that not goodbye?"

"Haley, your mother is a fundamental part of who you are, she will always be with you in the sense that she gave you life, and shaped that life, even after her departure from it. I know it is hard to see now, but she will always be with you, just not like before. And no, you don't have to say goodbye because you can carry the spirit of who she was and what meant something to her around with you always. As long as you don't forget the special qualities that made her unique in your eyes and irreplaceable in your heart you never really have to say goodbye."

At that moment Haley jumped into his arms and sobbed uncontrollably, whispering "thank you" in his ear as she held on for dear life. When she finally broke free from him she looked into his eyes deeply and said, "Clay, it may sounds ridiculous, but I really needed somebody here who understood what I was and am going through. It means a lot that you were the one here tonight."

"I'll always be here, if you ever need me just say the word and I will come running. Well maybe not literally, but you get my point." He smiled standing up on the towel and turning back toward the light of his house.

"Thanks, you are a really great friend." She smiled and something in both of their eyes revealed the inaccuracy of that statement. They were friends, definitely, but a part of each of them felt a connection that ran so deep they were afraid to test it out, afraid of the ramifications of what could come after.

Clay smiled at her and then offered her his hand in a friendly manner and said, "Come inside for a minute there is a music video I think you need to see."

She cocked her head sideways a bit, thinking it random to be speaking of music videos at a time like this but accepted his hand and followed.

When they got to the computer he pulled up a website that featured country music and Haley couldn't hold back an actual, genuine smile. Clay listened to country music. Well you learned something new everyday.

"I can see you smiling out of the corner of my eye and I will have you know that country music boasts some of the greatest songs in…well…history."

She threw her hands up in mock surrender. "I didn't say a word."

"Here we are, Danny Gokey: I Will Not Say Goodbye. Please just watch it and listen to it, and it is going to make you sad, but I want you to really listen to the lyrics and I think it will help."

"Okay," she said her smile fading as he pressed the play button unsure of what emotional melody would come next.

Sometimes the road just ends

Change's everything you've been

And all that's left to be

Is empty, broken, lonely, hoping

I'm supposed to be strong

I'm supposed to find a way to carry on

I don't want to feel better

I don't want to not remember

I will always see your face

In the shadow's of this haunted place

I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky

But I will NOT say goodbye

They keep saying time will heal

But the pain just gets more real

The sun comes up each day

Finds me waiting, fading, hating, praying

If I can keep on holding on

Maybe I can keep my heart

From knowing that you're gone

I don't want to feel better

I don't want to not remember

I will always see your face

In the shadows of this haunted place

I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky

But I will NOT say goodbye

I will curse, I will pray

I'll relive every day

I will shoulder the blame

I will shout out your name

I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky

But I will NOT say goodbye

I will NOT say goodbye

After hearing that song, Haley felt something she had not felt since before her mom had died. She felt hope. She felt like she was not alone in this. Like maybe, just maybe, she could find her way back to normal, or whatever weird version fit into her world. And she hoped that Clay would be there to help her do it.


Thanks for reading this, I hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit. And no worries, if this becomes a story I definitely want to take it romantic angle, and if it is just a bunch of one-shots, well I will find a way to make some of them romantic too. Anyway, reviews make me happy :)