Battle Scars

AU NH

Chapter 1: Broken

The sounds of artillery fire woke Nathan Scott from a deep sleep. Without another thought Nathan sprang from his bed nearly tripping over his gun. Gathering his bearings the best he could considering the chaos that had fallen all around him Nathan managed to arm himself and with gun in hand followed his fellow tent mates into what had become a battlefield outside their door.

"Scott, get down," Nathan heard. He didn't have to be told twice has his body hit the desert sand. Slowly Nathan looked around horrified at what he saw. Smoke and gunpowder filled his nostrils while blowing sand pricked his eyes. In the distance he could faintly make out shadows of fellow soldiers running and yelling, but Nathan couldn't make out a word. The air was jumbled with the screams and yells of those surrounding him. Not knowing what to do Nathan jumped to his feet despite warnings not to and ran into the smoke filled distance. He felt an arm reach out and pull him back. Nathan turned to see his best friend Tim clutching at a bullet wound in his chest.

"Nate, help please," Tim pleaded. Nathan leaned down and immediately put pressure on Tim's wound. Tim's eyes were fluttering open and shut as he began to lose consciousness.

"Tim, hold on man, " Nathan said finding his voice for the first time that night. Nathan tried his hardest hide the look of sheer terror he knew was etched on his face. He kept a hold of Tim still applying pressure to his rapidly bloodying wound. It was proving to be of no use and Nathan knew he needed to find help if Tim had even a shot at surviving. He ran to the nearest person he could find as fast as he could while still cradling his slowly dying friend.

"Sergeant Pierce" Nathan yelled, " I need help" He ran over to his Sergeant who was reloading his rifle behind a tank.

"Its Al-Qaeda, a sneak attack, I had no idea" Sergeant Pierce replied clearly shaken. Nathan took in deep breaths as he held onto Tim out of the line fire hidden by the tank. He closed his eyes as he felt Tim's life slowly slip away.

"Tim, Tim stay awake" he yelled.

" Nathan , Nathan wake up" Haley said as she leaned over Nathan's desk pushing on his arm.

"Wait, what" Nathan stuttered out as he slowly came to life .

"Are you ok?", Haley questioned, "You're looking kind of pale"

Nathan fully awake looked at her and for a moment let himself get lost in the kindness that her brown eyes shone. He quickly shook it off and went on the offensive.

"I'm fine Haley,"he bit out, "what do you want?"

Haley jumped back startled from the harshness in his tone and Nathan felt momentarily guilty as he saw hurt pass through her eyes. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Haley snapped back into feisty mode in a beat staring straight through him.

"The newest shipment of Heineken just got in and I was wondering what you wanted me to do with it?" she asked iciness clearly evident in her tone.

"Do what you always do Haley", he answered, "put them in the storeroom."

"Fine", she answered before turning on her heel and slamming out of his office. Nathan hated how he had acted especially when he saw the hurt in her eyes. He didn't mean to hurt her. In fact she was the last person that he wanted hurt but it was better that way. She should hate him. Although Nathan knew that she didn't have it in her to hate anyone, even him. He looked up and watched her walk heavily back to the bar to join Brooke and Peyton, wondering if their conversation had really bothered her, or if she had finally gotten used to his cold attitude. He didn't know what would be worse; her hate or her indifference.

"Remind me to never wake the beast again," Haley sighed heavily as walked back behind the bar.

"I see Mr. Charming is in full mode tonight", Peyton laughed.

"Ha, Ha funny Peyt," Haley replied," I don't understand, I know he is a jerk but he seems to be jerkier to me than anyone else"

"Hey don't look at me," Peyton her hands up," He never was like this growing up. He was the nice one"

"Hey, I heard that," Lucas yelled as he walked up to the three girls at the bar.

"What? You know Nathan was always the sweet one" Peyton said back.

Lucas rolled his eyes and gave Haley a sympathetic smile. He liked Haley a lot and couldn't understand why his brother didn't. Actually, that was a lie. He knew Nathan liked Haley, in fact he knew Nathan liked Haley a lot. But he also knew he had his reasons for keeping everyone at arm's length, especially her. He just wished he knew the whole reason why. Nathan had scars too deep for even himself to face and Lucas wondered if his brother would ever be free from the demons that haunted him. Lucas and Nathan grew up locally in Tree Hill, the sons of Dan and Deb Scott. Lucas was a year older and was definitely the more outgoing of the two brothers. He was popular, extroverted and athletic. He was the king of the high school and he knew it. However Nathan was the opposite. He was quiet and more introverted. He was happy to stand back and let Lucas take lead in everything, well in everything except basketball. On the basketball court Nathan came alive and out of his shell. The man on the court was nothing like the man off of the court. The man on the court was confident and cool while the man off the court was humble and shy. It was like the two sides of Nathan could never reconcile with each other. That was until Nathan decided to forgo playing basketball and joined the ARMY instead. Through the Army Nathan once and for all came out of is shell. He became strong and powerful. For the first time in his life he felt that he actually belonged somewhere and could be himself. The Army had been tough on him but he had thrived. He proved just how disciplined and devoted he could be. It helped that he was out of Lucas's shadow and could make a name for himself outside of being a Scott. But something happened after his second tour of duty in Iraq, He changed. Gone was the quiet sweet boy. He was replaced by a sullen, dark and sometimes cold man who Lucas felt may never open up to anyone again.Haley huffed and puffed her way through putting up the cases of Heineken.

" Damn boys, making me lug the boxes all way down here", she mumbled into the dark basement.

Haley continued on humming a song to herself unaware of two eyes watching her through the shadows. Nathan did this sometimes. He would watch her when she wasn't looking. He would sit and admire her grace and beauty. He was mesmerized by her and wished like hell he could give into it because he had a feeling she may be the one thing to bring the beauty back into his life but he knew that process would be too hard fought for someone like her and he couldn't bear to disappoint her. he kept her at a distance and admired her from afar. When he first met Haley when she had come into TRIC applying for a job he was quick to brush her off and ignore her saying she was too innocent for a job that consisted of mixing drinks and dealing with the drunks that usually accompanied those drinks. What he didn't realize at the time was that he was more worried about her safety. There was something there from the beginning even though he couldn't describe it. Maybe it was the way her brown eyes actually shone with the knowledge that she hadn't seen the worst the world could offer. Whatever it was the petite blonde had him hooked and that fact alone broke his heart.

Peyton and Lucas told him he was being an ass, but he didn't care. He had no time to worry about others feelings. His mom put him in charge of TRIC when she decided she didn't want to deal with it anymore. So, he had enlisted the help of Lucas and Peyton and with their combined efforts, business was now booming. Bringing on Haley, Brooke and Skills proved to be a good thing for business as well. The three were old friends from Charlotte who moved down to Tree Hill after college for what was supposed to be a temporary break but yet here they were nearly six months later still slinging drinks and enjoying their new family. Brooke took right to the job serving drinks with a flirty smile. She was in her element and as the center of attention. Haley was a bit more subdued but quickly became a favorite amongst customers. Her quick wit and sparkling personality made her so attractive.She definitely had the girl next door thing down to a T. Her wavy blonde hair fell just past her shoulders and her petite curvy body had gained her more than a few admirers. Skills took right to his job as doorman. You didn't get in without the approval of Skills and he loved every minute of it. The girls often complained about his girl to guy ration in terms of admittance but it made him and Lucas happy. that he let too many girls in and not enough guys, but it made him and Lucas especially happy. The three of them along with Peyton, Lucas and Nathan had formed a tight bond, even though Nathan often felt like he was on the outside of the circle. He knew it was better that way. He would never let himself get close to anyone ever again. It was better for everyone if he kept mostly to himself.The night was in full swing as people crowded into TRIC. The club was so packed that from Nathan's view it could potentially break all kinds of fire codes. He let himself smile briefly as he thought of all he had accomplished since he had taken over. By immersing himself in work he had turned TRIC into one of the premier clubs on the east coast. What started out as a local dive had turned into a venue for veteran and up and coming artists alike to showcase their talents. He was proud and validated and that was something he hadn't felt in a long time.

Nathan looked up from his desk and out through the window of his office to see utter, but good, chaos. It was chaos that made them all money. He saw a sweaty and flustered Haley pouring four tequila shots and passing them out to 4 frat boys in matching pastel polo shirts giving them all a flirty wink and smile. He was jealous because he was never on the receiving end of those smiles. He shook his head sadly and returned to his work. Haley fanned her face with a towel and silently prayed for relief from the overbearing heat that had taken over the bar that night. She could definitely tell spring was upon them and thank the lord she had worn her TRIC tank top and demin skirt instead of the usual t-shirt and jeans. She looked over at Luke who was whispering in the ear of a customer and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, loverboy hand me the Jack Daniels," Haley half yelled, half grinned at her friend.

Luke reluctantly pried himself away from the girl he was talking to and pouted over to Haley.

"Geez, Hales way to cock block"

"Don't worry Lukie I am sure there will be plenty more where that came from later on tonight. Plus they will most likely be drunk so that means less work for you." Haley grinned and sent Lucas a wink.

All of a sudden an out of breath Brooke came dashing up to the bar barking out her drink order to Lucas.

"That is exactly why I keep my happy ass my here behind the bar." Haley laughed, "more resistance, even though it didn't stop Rico Suave down the bar from trying to scale it anyway."

"Here you go B," Luke said as he handed Brooke the drinks. Without even a thank you Brooke turned and dashed out into the craziness, quickly swallowed by the crowd. Lucas and Haley went back to work lifting their heads as they heard Peyton's voice from the stage.

"Hey guys, I hope you all are having a great night." Peyton's statement was met by cheers as she continued

"Put your hands together for the very talented Jake Jagielski"

The crowd roared as Jake started strumming his guitar. Jake was a local musician who the group had befriended. He started playing a few times a week after they all discovered how well he could sing and play. He had quickly drawn quite the following and not to mention the attention of Peyton. She tried to play coy but the look on her face when he played said it all. Whenever Haley saw Peyton get lost in her Jake haze she would wish she had a haze of her own. Since moving to Tree Hill Haley had gone on one date with a weird guy named Damien who had made crude sexual remarks throughout the entire date and left her hiding in the bathroom and calling Brooke to come and save her. It was for the best though. Haley wasn't sure if she wanted anything too serious right now anyway. She had a long term boyfriend in Charlotte and the relationship had not ended well so she felt it best to lay low awhile.

As the crowd dwindled down the gang minus Nathan but plus Jake gathered around the bar to do their end of night tradition. Haley pulled out a bottle of tequila and poured them all shots. They went around and each toasted to another successful night. Shortly after the toast each of the friends gathered their things and headed out leaving only Haley and presumably Nathan. Haley didn't give this much thought and started to count the till. She was singing along to the radio behind the bar unaware that Nathan had taken a seat to behind her, staring at her as she wiped down the back bar. He got lost as he stared at her lower tanned back that had become exposed between her tank top and skirt. He licked his lips unconsciously wondering how the skin might taste. He was brought out of his thoughts as Haley screamed instinctively throwing her towel at him.

"Jesus, Nathan" she shrieked, "identify yourself next time"

Haley was shocked by the intensity of his gaze and felt heat go through her body. Of course she thought Nathan was attractive, his cold attitude had turned off but she couldn't help but feel affected by his stare now."Sorry Haley, I guess I am just tired", he lied.

Truth was that he was completely transfixed by the sight in front of him. Shaking these feelings off he joined her behind the bar and took the rag from her and finished wiping off the bar. Haley grabbed her purse and keys from underneath the bar and turned to leave.

She stopped and said, "Nathan, whatever you were dreaming about earlier ..you know…if you want to talk ..ever..I am here."When he didn't answer she started to walk away only to feel Nathan's hand grab hers and spin her around. They both felt a jolt of electricity run through their bodies at the contact as Nathan simply said, " Thanks"