"Jill where are we going?" Nathan got out as he walked cautiously.

The two were passing through the cemetary in the dead of night with Jill leading the way.

"To a place I like to go sometimes," she was making her way out of the cemetary towards the forest.

"This is kind of creepy, you go here when you're alone?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing it's just this place sends chills down my spine."

"Oh no little Nathan is scared," she giggled.

"Hey, this coming from the girl who's afraid of Nike uptowns?"

"For the last time I'm not afraid of them, I just don't like how they're so high cut and gangster looking."

"Whatever," he laughed, "anyways what are you doing walking through cemetaries and forests alone at night when you're afraid of ghosts?"

Jill shrugged, "My mind is so full sometimes I don't have enough room to remember my fears."

He nodded, "Good point."

He held a branch back to let Jill through.

"Thanks," she smiled.

"No problem," he loved the way she smiled, "so where we going?"

"There," Jill stopped pointing at the water tower in front of them.

"The water tower?"

"Yeah."

The two walked over to the metal ladder and slowly climbed it. The metal bars were rusty. Nathan tried to remember the tower but couldn't recollect it. After all this time he had never known of the abondoned site. It was hidden behind the cemetary and a forest making it good enough reason to not be detected all these years.

"You go here a lot?" He called out from under her.

"Just when I want to get away from problems that my art isn't strong enough to get rid of," she had already reached the top and was waiting for Nathan.

Momentarilly he was up too. Standing up and resting on the rail Nathan took in a deep breath and looked at the view they were getting from such high altitude.

"Wow I can see why you come up here, it's beautiful," he could see half of Tree Hill and the sky from up there was breath taking.

Jill nodded, "I know that's the pro about this," she sat down in front of the ledge letting her legs dangle off the tower's edge," the con is how high we are from the ground."

"Yeah," he looked down, "that's a long way down, I uhh I think I'll sit down beside you now."

Jill giggled, "Just don't look down."

"Oh trust me I won't," he grabbed the railing, "how'd you find this place?"

"I don't know really. I just remember being so mad about being in the same school as Vegas one night I tried to run away. Of course that was impossible so I just wandered around from place to place until I saw the cemetary. I was so mad I completely forgot about all that's to be scared of the place and walked right through it and that's how I found this."

"You could have called me? I mean I would've been there for you. If you need anything Jill I'm always here, you know that right?" Nathan pleaded.

"I know, I know you are, I was just on overload that night, but I'll remember to call you next time okay?"

"Okay," he smiled.

"Same goes for me too okay, I'm here too buddy, whenever where ever, all you need to do is call."

"Yeah," Nathan sighed as he looked straight ahead.

"Like now, Is there something wrong Nathan," she put her hand on his shoulder, "why did you really come over tonight?

Nathan was silent still staring ahead.

"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it but you need to. You need to let it out and not bottle it up. Trust me the consequences are much worse then telling someone."

"I know," he sighed, "I guess it's cause I don't really like to tell anyone my problems. I used to tell them to Haley but that was before. So much time has passed and I've sort of closed up again."

"Tell me Nathan, please," she looked at him with her pleading eyes, "I promise I won't judge or think of you any less."

"I know you won't, it's just kind of hard. It opens me up as a vulnerable pawn and when that happens I can get hurt."

"It's not bad to let people see your weaknesses Nathan. So what if they know your flaws and secrets. This isn't a game, it's not basketball, it's your life."

Nathan sighed creating a silence between the two for a couple of minutes.

"Do you know how scary it is to feel like at any moment I could turn out to be just like my father?"

Jill was perplexed. He just spoke out so randomly.

"I don't understand what you mean?"

"My dad Jill, he's not like any dad. He may seem normal but if you know him, if you get to know him then you'd know what he really is. He's a manipulator! A monster even," his tone of voice was rising with every word he spoke, "I hate him."

Jill listened intently nodding her head at the over emotional boy, "What hapend today?"

"I knew it was a bad idea to have dinner with him and his colleague. It was after all his idea."

"Was it because you had to eat with them?"

"It wasn't the eating part. I knew that would be a bore but the conversation, that's the part that got me so so..."

"Nathan it's okay."

He shook his head, "I hate it when parents show you off to their friends. It's like they're all competing in this 'Who's kid is better' contest."

"I know what you mean."

"Don't they know it pressures the kid," he moved over to lean against the body of the water tower, "then my ass of a dad starts to bring up his high school days when he was the captain of the basketball team and how he was the epitome of all ball players."

"Trying to live vicariously through his son?"

"Exactly, except he tries to compete with me. Doesn't he remember last year when I took narcotics to bring up my game. I wanted him to be proud of me for scoring the most points and maybe even beat his 32 point record, but that didn't happpen. Instead I winded up collapsing on the gym floor because I had reached rock bottom," Nathan played with his fingers, "The worst part of it all, is that after all that has happend he still continues to push me, maybe even harder this year and I don't know if I can handle all of it this time."

"Nathan I never knew," Jill looked at him as she moved over to sit beside him against the tower's body.

"Thats okay how could you have known, it's not like I show it often."

"Is it that bad?"

"Even worse, that's small chicken shit compared to everything else."

Nathan grabbed a couple of pebbles from the steel ground they sat on and threw them overboard.

"The even worst part is I was away from all that shit, from my father, but I came back."

"You moved out?"

"No even better. I emancipated myself from my parents."

"Both parents, even your mom?"

"Yeah, we weren't as tight knit as we were a year ago. Do you remember that time when you called me a mama's boy and I told you yeah just recently?"

Jill nodded her head.

"Yeah well it's because before summer I finally forgave my mother, and now we're trying to pick up and mend the broken pieces."

"Oh."

"When I was younger she took on charity work that involved her to travel places a lot to help needy children. She left me alone with Dan and that's when everything changed. That's where the pressuring and the bullying began."

"It was like she was helping all those needy children across the world but the most important child she neglected to care for was her own son."

"Exactly! Last year I found out the reason why she was always away was because she was having an affair. I get that she couldn't get enough of my dad and she fled because he's a psycho but she forgot about me. She thought about herself a little too much and forgot about her family. She wasn't there to stop him from pushing me so hard into becoming him, instead she was off being happy. When she came back to try to change all that it was too late, I had already turned into a mini Dan and I let her suffer the consequences of her ways. I guess I blamed her for leaving me with Dan but most of all for making me turn into him. I resented her a whole lot, until I finally realized I couldn't stay mad at her forever she's my mom and I know she loves me. I love her too, I just needed some time to take in all those emotions and feelings."

"I'm glad you worked things out with your mother, and maybe hopefully your dad someday?"

"My dad can't be helped Jill. Everyone knows that he can't be changed so we need to beat him some how before he strikes again."

"Strikes again?"

"He brings down everyone he's close to. He ruined Karen and Luke's life, my mom and mine, even mine and Haley's."

"You and Haley, really?"

"Yeah, he never liked her from the beginning just because she wasn't from higher places. He threatend her a couple of times and forged my signature on annulment papers behind my back."

"Did she sign it?"

"No. It wasn't eligible because of the forged name so we got a divorce. We didn't want to wipe out all we had together."

"That's good."

"Yeah," he paused, "Isn't my life a mess?"

"Yeah," she giggled as Nathan's head quickly turned her way, "but who's isn't? Everyone has cracked up lives, they're just different. I'm glad you told me Nathan."

"Thanks for listening," he smiled as he put his arm around her.

"Thanks for sharing. I know it was hard for you but I'm glad you vented," she put her small arms around his torso.

The two stared into the night with a new outlook, more at ease you could say. Jill rested her head on Nathan's shoulder as they embraced one another slowly dozing off as time passed.