Author's Note: This story sat on my mind for weeks, tickling my brain and pleading to be written, but I shrugged it away because it was completely outside of my comfort zone. And as I wrote it, I can honestly say that I felt sickened and disgusted at what I was writing: but that was how I knew I was doing the weight of the subject justice. I did not take this story lightly, and I hope you won't either. That being said, I wrote it for you guys to enjoy because if there is one thing I find amazing about people, it is the depth and strength that emerges in the face of immense tragedy or immense evil. I wanted each character that resides in Tree Hill to be deeply affected and then to watch them react, with the good, the bad, and the beautiful.

Oh, and each chapter is named for a song: Chapter 1 is Landslide by Stevie Nicks. If you want to get the feel for the chapter, I would suggest listening to the song on Youtube or other music sites. The story is named for the song of the same name by Oasis. Without further ado, enjoy!

There was a light hum of activity enveloping Karen's Café as Haley James-Scott lifted the salt and pepper shakers with one hand and quickly wiped down table one with the other. It was a Friday night and school had only begun the week before, so most patrons were adults deep in conversation.

"Heeeey Rock Star! I could use some sugah!" a crude voice called out followed by a whistle. The exception, of course, had to be those three jackasses.

Haley rolled her eyes as she walked to the counter to grab the sugar (which the three teenagers easily could have done) before shoving it onto their table and trying to retreat unmolested. No such luck –

Smack. A hand slapped her bottom. Haley turned around with fire in her eyes as the boys started whooping. Just as she was about indulge in some rather colorful language another voice took over-

"You need to go, now." Lucas Scott commanded jumping to his friend's defense as he gently tugged Haley behind him.

"Aww, dude, but we didn't even pay yet!" the turd with the black hair whined.

"Just get out!" Lucas roared, "And if I ever see your faces around here again, I'll knock your weasely heads together!"

Although the boys muttered under their breaths they beat a hasty retreat. They were only sophomores at Tree Hill High and as much fun as it was to tease the runaway wife-turned rock-star, future popularity plans for high school prevented them from messing with the Raven's star player. Lucas grunted after them before turning to Haley with his brow creased in concern:

"You okay?"

Haley let out the deep breath she had been unconsciously holding and sent him a small smile as she tucked the stray hairs behind her ear. "Yeah, I'm fine." She released a shaky breath, "I just really wanted to hit him back, ya know?" She elbowed Lucas playfully in the arm, "but I'm sure attacking customers wouldn't help bring in more business."

Lucas' mouth twitched slightly with the joke before he turned serious again. He didn't like the kids' indecent familiarity with Haley, "If they mess with you again, you'll tell me, right?" He searched her eyes.

Haley immediately looked toward her feet, uncomfortable under her friend's scrutinizing gaze before looking up to catch his eye, "Of course, Luke."

Lucas nodded once. He recognized that she wasn't telling him everything and resolved that he would get to the bottom of it: "Hales, are these the same guys picking on you at school?"

Haley shifted from one foot to the other biting her lip, "Sometimes. Not always. The girls are meaner if I'm being honest, the guys aren't that bad." She paused and caught Lucas' blue eyes with her deeply hurt brown ones. "I just don't get it, Luke! I mean, what did I do to them? I know what I did sucked, but why should they care? They don't even know me!"

Lucas studied her face for a moment before enveloping her in a hug. Haley buried her face in his hoodie as Luke softly stroked her hair. "I dunno, Hales. It's just that you did something amazing that they could never dream of doing. I mean, Haley James-Scott: the rock-star. You're bigger than them and they're jealous so they just wanna bring you down."

Haley pulled back and looked away trying to hide the tears that were quickly filling her eyes. Softly she said, "They're not the only ones."

Lucas grabbed her hand and rubbed it gently. "Hey," he murmured. "Peyton and Nate will come around." He paused thinking of the best way to say it, "They're just hurt, Hales. Nate was in such a dark place while you were gone, and Peyton … well, she's going through some stuff and she's just taking it out on you."

Haley nodded as she pulled her hand from his so she could wipe away the stray tear falling down her cheek. "I just hate that everyone hates me. It's like maybe I should have just stayed away."

Lucas' brow furrowed again and he gently but firmly turned her body around to face him, then carefully lifted her head up until she had no choice but to look in his eyes. "Don't ever say something like that again." Two tears quickly trickled out of Haley's brown eyes. "Nobody hates you, Hales. And as for me, when you came home, I got my best friend back. And you and Brooke are good, right? As for everyone else, to hell with them," he murmured as he wiped the tears away with the pads of his thumbs. He smiled a proud smile, "You are Haley. James. Scott., the rock star." This earned him a small smile, so he continued, "You stood up in front of thousands of people and blew them all away. So ya know what? Your problem is that you are too much for Tree Hill handle. You're the strongest person I know and if anyone can stand up to some lame-ass bullies, it's you." This time when another tear dropped Lucas knew it was out of gratitude, but he only had a moment to see her face before she pulled him into another hug.

"You, Lucas Scott," her voice only slightly muffled by Lucas' shirt, "are a great man. And I love you. That's exactly what I needed to hear." Pulling back to swipe at her still full eyes Haley shot Lucas a smile. "Enough about me! How are you and Brooke doing?"

Lucas gave her a warm smile back, "We're doing pretty good. We were gonna get together tonight and talk about things."

Haley's face glowed, "Oh Luke, I'm so glad! You guys really love each other, you just have to get yourselves straightened out."

"Well, Mom's out with Keith tonight talking over their stuff, so I thought I'd invite Brooke to my place tonight so we don't get in your way."

Haley rolled her eyes, "Like you guys would ever get in my way: what you mean to say is so I won't get in yours." Lucas chuckled. Haley smiled before turning serious, her eyes full of concern for her friends, "Just don't do anything too fast, ya know? I know how you two are and I don't want you guys to mess this up when you're just fixing things."

Lucas nodded, "I know, Hales. I meant it, I really just want to talk."

Haley watched his eyes and then nodded, "Good. In that case, why don't you get out of here. Catch up with Brooke. I need to close this place up and with those nincompoops gone, I can handle things."

Lucas studied her for a moment, "Are you sure, Hales? I can stay until you're finished."

Haley shook her head with a big smile, "Naw, get out of here. You two lovebirds go and make-up." She gave Lucas a light shove in the direction of the door.

Heaving a large, overly dramatic sigh, Lucas slowly made his way to the door pretending his legs were weighted down by invisible sand bags. "Parting is such sweet sorrow," he cried out, a hand over his brow like a heroine in an opera.

Haley giggled as Lucas continued acting like a goof-ball before calling out, "Tell Brooke I'll see her tomorrow!"

Lucas stopped at the door looking at Haley strangely, "Won't you see her tonight?"

Haley winked knowingly letting Lucas know she didn't expect Brooke home that night. "You guys have a lot to work out."

Lucas laughed, "Alright, alright. I'm outta here!" while retreating out the door making the bells on the handle jingle as he pushed past.

About twenty minutes later Haley was almost ready to call it a night. She had kindly bid the last customers goodnight, flipped the sign, locked the front door and proceeded to clean off the tables and quickly mop up the floor. The radio was on and Stevie Nicks' voice bathed the cafe in soft longing as her voice matched the guitar with "the landslide brought me down."

Haley's thoughts filled with the same plaintive longing for something secure. Her entire world was in limbo and she suddenly found herself unable to find where she belonged. Her husband wanted nothing to do with her, which cut the deepest. Haley knew she had hurt Nathan badly when she left, but didn't he understand that it hurt her to leave? She loved him, and it hurt when he ignored her in class or sent those angry comments her direction in the hallways.

Then there were her parents, in some god-forsaken part of the US with their motor-home. Even though she now had a home with Brooke she missed the security of living at home with Jimmy and Lydia with her big siblings making sporadic appearances. Honestly, Haley was just a seventeen-year-old kid living in a state without family anywhere in a six-hour radius. Without her parents to draw them back her siblings were simply gone and she was truly the last James in Tree Hill.

Then there was Lucas: he would always be her best friend and they were getting back to where they once were, but they weren't quite there yet. She hadn't realized the night she climbed onto that bus with Chris just how many people she loved would be hurt.

And she wasn't just in limbo with Luke and her new friends. Haley realized with some regret that when Lucas left the Rivercourt, she had too. Those guys were her dear friends as well, Skills, Jimmy, Mouth, Fergie, Junk … they had always had her back. She wasn't sure if they did now. She had stepped away into a new world with Nathan and Peyton and Brooke, the popular world. With her new world completely dissolved before her eyes, Haley had no idea where to turn, where she fit in.

All she could think was, Thank God for Brooke. Ever since becoming roommates Haley and Brooke had become extremely close, and Haley knew that when she had trouble that her Tigger would be sure to bounce it right out of her. So no, the apartment wasn't the same as home under her parents' protection, but whenever she returned to the little apartment she knew she was cared for by someone. And Haley hoped with all of her might that tonight might be the night Brooke and Lucas worked things out: there was nothing Haley wanted more than to make Brooke happy when Brooke meant everything to her.

With a sigh Haley grabbed up two bags of trash from the backroom to take to the dumpster, heaving one over her shoulder and carrying the other one slightly behind her. Grabbing the key to the door so she wouldn't lock herself out (it wouldn't be a Haley first) she hummed along to the radio. As she pushed through the back door she suddenly felt a cold feeling settle deep in her stomach. Never had Haley felt threatened closing up at Karen's before, but then again, never before had she opened the back door into the alley to find the three punks that had harassed her earlier loitering by the alley entrance.

Haley had always had good instincts, as Karen liked to tell her, and she was using them now. There was no way the kids were hanging out in an alley at 10 pm with good intentions. Without realizing it, Haley let the back door close with a thump and a solid click. With nowhere else to go and trying not to panic, Haley studied the three. Although the boys might be two years younger than she, they had all hit their growth spurts and towered above her. Haley had never been tall or big, and any one of them would be able to bring her down. She remembered that the green-eyed, spiky-haired kid was on the swim-team and his upper body was thick with muscles.

"Hey baby." Haley's eyes flew to the black-haired one as he spoke, a sinister smile on his face. "Imagine a rock star taking out the trash. I always knew you liked it dirty." All three guffawed at his horrible pun.

Haley kept her voice completely steady as she said, "You guys can't be out here. Employees only. The exit's that way." She gestured with garbage bag in hand towards the alley entrance hoping that her words and hand movement would distract from her other hand dropping the second bag of waste and sliding into her pocket to retrieve the back door key. Why was that door locked anyway? That seemed like a horrible idea. Oh, right, it was locked for safety reasons. The irony of the moment was not lost on Haley.

Spiky-hair began to walk towards her, crooning, "Come on, baby, stop playing with us. Everyone knows you're loose." Haley's eyes remained wide and fixed on his measured movements towards her. "We'll even bring coke if that's what you need to get in the mood."

Obviously when the kids at school called her "rock star" they had been insinuating more than she thought. Rather than dwelling on this thought Haley was shocked back to reality when she saw how close Spiky had gotten. Just as he darted in to grab her, Haley brought the bag down from over her shoulder to buffet him in the stomach before trying to slam the key in the lock. Spiky immediately grabbed Haley's legs from his new position on the ground, pulling her down with him. Haley kicked to get away and landed a hard kick to the groin sending Spiky hollering back in pain as Haley jumped up to leave.

Now knowing that getting in through the back door was a waste of time, Haley made a break for the entrance to the alley. In a panic she realized that the front door was also locked, and most nearby businesses were closed. But surely someone must be around?

Haley tried to call out: "HEL-" but was cut off by the next set of hands grabbing her around the stomach forcing every bit of air out of her body. As she felt herself being thrown back towards the back door she looked up at her new attacker to see the kid that hadn't said a thing all night. His eyes were sparkly green and filled with lust. No other expression marked his face. Haley rolled over, clawing at the ground to get up, to get away, her breaths coming in short adrenaline-filled bursts. She had only made it to her knees when she felt a hand grab her by the hair and drag her further into the alley.

Realizing her only hope for escape when it was three against one was if someone came by and heard them. So Haley began to scream.

Haley had never been a screamer because she had been raised to believe that screaming meant something was really wrong. In a house with six kids, parents could only respond when something was actually wrong or else a deal with a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" scenario. But now Haley James-Scott found the voice that had always been inside:

"HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE! HEEEEEELP!" She screamed so loudly it felt like her vocal chords were snapping inside, but she continued until her hair was released and her body stopped moving forward. The relief was momentary: she felt a sudden burst of shooting pain through her jaw.

"Shut up, whore!" Black-hair said holding his hand back from where he had just smashed it into her face. Instead of responding Haley's whole body jolted forward as she tackled him and did her best to scratch at any available surface. Unfortunately two sets of hands roughly grabbed her off, and Spiky, still angry from the smart to his pants, shoved her against the wall with enough force that her head hit the wall with a sickening crack. The blow dazed her for a moment until she realized that while one of Spiky's hands was constricting her throat, the other was struggling with the zipper of her jeans.

Haley went for the eyes. Her fingernails moved with reckless abandon as she scratched and gouged at his face until his grip on her throat loosened and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.

Spiky screamed in pain, "Grab her dude! I'm gonna kill her!" No sooner had the order passed through his lips did Haley find Green-eyes smashing the piece of plywood that Karen sometimes used to prop the backdoor open into her unprotected face. The rough surface tore the skin and the blunt force knocked her back. Blood trickled from her cheek and the pain burned, but before the world had stopped spinning, Haley pulled herself up and tried to crawl away. She felt a foot kick at her gut and she fell. She tried to scream again, but her throat was raw and it felt like the sound had been trapped with her in the dark alleyway.

"Shut her up!" A voice growled.

"She's got a set of lungs! Guess that's how she sings so good," the next voice mused close to her ear as a hand harshly covered her mouth. Haley bit down, hard.

Even as the voice screamed, the hand lashed out hitting her stomach and chest. Haley tried to curl into a ball to stop the blows, but something else stopped it –

"Dude, we have tape, just tape her fucking mouth shut!"

Beyond terrified, her head feeling completely fuzzy and ears ringing, Haley screamed again over and over until she tasted something in her mouth. It was cottony and it was so large that it began to choke her. Haley couldn't breathe. She began to hyperventilate, trying to draw in air through her nose, but her nose seemed to already be clogged up with something wet. Then she heard the distinct sound of duct tape being unwound and torn before she felt it cover her face making it impossible to dispel the wad of cotton choking her.

For the first time Haley could feel tears streaming down her cheeks, as she looked into the faces of her three former customers. The sobs that tried to come out her mouth were caught in the cotton and she choked.

"Her fingernails are like daggers, man. Tape her hands too. I'm not touching her until she can't move." Hands roughly grabbed her wrists and drew them together, wrapping the tape around three times before tearing it and letting go. Before she'd been too intent on escape to listen to their harsh words, but now Haley had no choice. Her fight was gone. Everything hurt. It was hard to breathe, she couldn't move, and she thought she just might die from the pain before they could do anything else.

"I want first dibs! I always wanted to have a celebrity go down on me!" the first voice said enthusiastically. Black-hair, Haley thought.

"She's not going down on anyone unless you want your dick bitten off," A harsh voice replied, and Haley knew that the hands that had begun to explore her body and the crass words belonged together. There was no doubt this was Spiky. Haley managed to get out a whimper and the hands stopped their downward movement and instead slowly trailed up to her face and gently brushed her cheek. "You're gonna love this," the voice crooned in a tone reminiscent of loving passion that made it more disturbing. "My dick's the biggest you've ever had, rock star." The tears were now continuous down Haley's face. Never had time moved so slowly. Spiky dipped down and trailed his tongue across her neck, every once in awhile biting down hard. As he reached her purple t-shirt he hesitated, smirking as he caught her fearful eyes. He grabbed the shirt and with little effort succeeded in ripping the shirt down past her bra.

Not bothering to remove the bra he yanked it down revealing Haley's breasts in the light of the small lamp next to the back door of Karen's. Haley sobbed in earnest praying someone would come find her. Spiky dipped down and took her breast in his mouth, biting down on the nipple leaving cruel teeth-marks. In horror Haley tried to look away, only to look up and see Black-hair quickly jacking himself off at the sight. Instantly Haley squeezed her eyes shut, hoping everything might suddenly vanish.

Luke, come back. Please. The thought filled her hazy, frightened mind. You always protect me. Why is no one coming? Haley's eyes snapped open when she felt her jeans being yanked down to her knees, followed by her underwear. Somehow she couldn't tear her eyes away as Spiky pulled out his engorged penis and began to rub it between her folds that had become traitorously wet. He shot her a smile that was so horribly reminiscent of Nathan's sexy smirk that Haley thought she might be sick. "You've never had it so good, baby. I'm gonna fuck you for forever."

Pass out! Haley shouted to herself in terror, tears and blood mixing on her cheeks. Pass out now! But not even that one grace was granted.

Author's Note: Yeah, I'm sorry that ends so horribly. But please, if you want a faster update, let me know you liked it! I do have several chapters waiting in the wings, and the more feedback I receive, the more inclined I'll be to post! Thanks, guys!