A very long Naley chapter. They don't tend to get much time in this story, but I really like them in this story. I never get many Naley readers and it's hard to know if I should write more for them.

Thanks for the great replies. I've decided to post this chapter sooner than later to say thanks for the replies. It's a great motivator to post. I love knowing what you think about the chapters and any feedback given is appreciated. More chapters are ready to post!

A Season in Purgatory

Chapter 7

Haley ignored the stares of the couples that filled the hallway as Nathan pulled her through the crowd, his strong hand completely engulfing her smaller one. She was growing a bit apprehensive, as Lucas' warnings about Nathan resurfaced in her mind. She frowned at those words, knowing that she wasn't drunk and Nathan wasn't drunk, so there was nothing wrong with going upstairs with the guy.

Lucas was another story, though. Haley knew he'd been deeply affected by Karen's break up with Keith, but she'd not known the depth of his pain until he'd finally confided in her about his feelings concerning Keith's new girlfriend. Lucas didn't want Keith dating anyone new, just like he didn't want his mother going out with someone else. Haley had always had a stable family life, so it was hard for her to imagine not having a mother and father at the dinner table every night, or having to deal with new parental dating partners. Lucas' life had always been underscored by instability, outside of Karen's constant love. First there had always been financial issues making his life hell and now what little family Luke could rely on was falling to pieces around him.

Haley sighed, not knowing what was going on in her friend's head anymore. She'd never thought she'd be forced to deal with a drunken Lucas and yet here they were. Lucas was a control freak, the one trait he definitely inherited from his father. He couldn't stand being out of control, especially around other people. Seeing her friend drunk in public was nearly as shocking as hearing him lecture her about proper party behavior. And yet it was hard for her to be too mad at Lucas, knowing how upset he was about seeing his mother talking to Dan. It was only logical that Lucas would drink to forget the events of that night. Between getting thrown out of the game for fighting with Nathan and being forced to watch his parents together, drinking was about the only thing likely to shut Luke's brain down for the night. And the boy just thought too much about everything. He'd brood and ponder every little detail about every thing in his life until he spent entire weeks without a good night's sleep.

Haley knew she needed to talk to Karen and let her know that Lucas was upset about things. She'd avoided Karen's gentle yet probing questions about how Lucas handled her break up with Keith. Haley had remained mostly quiet on the topic, knowing that Lucas didn't want to make Karen feel any guiltier than she already felt. But things just seemed to be getting out of control lately. And maybe Karen could find a way to help Lucas get through this sibling rivalry as well as help him accept Keith's new girlfriend.

Lost in thought, Haley collided with a warm, solidly muscular back. She looked up in confusion and realized that Nathan had stopped in front of a set of doors. He turned around and smiled at her, saying, "I'm beginning to wonder if a single wine cooler is too much for you." Haley smiled back, realizing that Nathan had no idea how clumsy she was without the help of alcohol. "I'm not drunk, I was just lost in thought," she explained, raising her voice to out shout the music that was filling the hallway.

Haley noted two cheerleaders down the hall pointing at her with looks akin to jealousy on their faces. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at them, and instead let Nathan take her hand and pull her through the double doors into the relative sanctuary of his room. Nathan pulled the heavy wood doors shut and then turned the lock for added effect. Haley hesitantly smiled at him, trying to ignore the lurch in her stomach at his actions. She could only imagine how many other girls had been in this very room in the past. "Do you always barricade yourself in rooms with strange girls?" she asked, letting him know she'd seen him turn the lock on the door.

Nathan slowly approached her, not wanting to scare her off by any sudden movement. "Actually, I'm keeping them out rather than you in, so don't look so concerned," he gruffly replied, not happy that she felt threatened being alone with him in his bedroom. After all, she'd been alone in his house during tutoring sessions and here she was cringing during a party with a house full of people.

Haley raised her eyebrows at his words but forced herself to relax. Even if she wasn't used to be alone with guys or going to wild parties, she was capable of defending herself. You didn't grow up with a passel of older brothers without learning where to hit them. "I'm surprised that any of the bedrooms are empty with this gang of drunkards around," she commented, wondering if all of Nathan's parties were this intense.

Nate moved across the room to sit on his large bed, eventually leaning back against the dark wood headboard to watch her. "Most of the people know the rules: Stay out of my bedroom and stay out of my dad's room. The rest of the dark corners and other rooms are fair game," he blandly replied, not wanting to think about any of those dark corners being occupied by Brooke and his idiot half brother.

Not seeing a chair near by, Haley sat down at the foot of the bed, letting the footboard support her slight frame. She looked around the sparsely decorated room, realizing that she'd purposefully sat as far away from Nate as the footboard would allow her to go. She watched the dark haired boy for a moment, seeing that he was lost in contemplation. Haley hesitantly reached a small foot out and nudged his long leg, hoping to bring him back to the present. "Nathan, are you okay? I can leave you alone if you want…" she trailed off, growing more confused about what he wanted to show her in his room.

Before she could move, Nathan reached down and playfully grabbed her foot. "I'm okay, but I don't want you to leave," he wistfully replied, his tone instantly capturing her attention. There was something vulnerable in his voice, something that compelled her to stay where she was sitting.

"What did you want to show me, Nate?" she gently probed, seeing that there were so many powerful emotions clouding his deep blue eyes. She loved those eyes, the same eyes that Lucas had. Haley could fault Dan Scott with a million things, but he tended to create beautiful blue-eyed sons.

Nathan stared at her a moment, weighing his need to get some things off his chest versus the intense need for privacy he'd cloaked issues related to his family in for years. Finally, he gave her one last look before bending over the side of the bed and pulling out a box.

Haley watched as he set a dilapidated brown corrugated box in front of him, playing with the sides, as if he wasn't convinced that sharing its contents was a smart idea. He looked up at her shyly, deciding that she was a good person to show his memories to. "This is all the stuff I have from my mom," he hesitantly began, watching her eyes as they softened in sympathy. Normally Nathan hated it when anyone did that near him, the old 'poor Nathan's mom up and died' routine. But Haley was different; there was sympathy there, but also interest in the words he was speaking.

Haley leaned over and took a short peak in the box. "What kinds of things do you have?" she asked, knowing that Nathan must be in some serious pain to share his mom's belongings with her, a near stranger.

Nathan shrugged at her question. "Odds and ends mostly. Dad packed up most of her stuff a long time ago and it's in the attic of our other house. He's never been able to give most of it away. These are little things that got overlooked, or things that I got to first," he confided, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial ton, even though his dad was not around. "It took my grandparents nearly a year to talk him into giving her clothes away to charity, but it took them a few more years to get him to box up other stuff," he finished, sadness covering his eyes.

Haley reached out and held his hand, wanting to reassure him and keep him talking. She'd always sensed that Nathan repressed so many things about himself, his feelings and his family. That was just one of the things he and Lucas had in common. They both tried so hard to contain all of their feelings making a blow up at someone inevitable. "You don't talk about her much, do you?" she asked, knowing the answer before he shook his head a bit in agreement.

Nathan took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions. "It's hard. I mean, dad is so strong but when it comes to mom he just gets quiet and I don't want to make him any sadder than he already is. My grandparents aren't really in town long enough for me to ask them questions. And my mom didn't have any brothers or sisters, so I can't ask them anything," he explained, finding comfort in her warm brown eyes.

She considered his words for a moment before speaking. "What about Keith? I mean, she was his sister in law for eight years, I bet he knows some things about her."

Nathan leaned back against the headboard, thinking about her words. "But I don't know Keith well enough to ask him. I mean, he's pretty much aligned himself with the enemy camp," Nathan retorted.

"Maybe Keith thought that Lucas and Karen needed somebody to help them out," she gently reminded him, not wanting to get into the family fight that was threatening both generations of Scott Brothers. "I know Keith very well and I know that he's said several times that he and your dad have never gotten along. It's an interesting preview at where you and Lucas are headed," she stated, wishing that someone in this family would get a clue.

"I don't want to talk about Lucas," Nathan sullen said, still smarting from the punches his half brother had landed only hours before. "But you are right; Keith might have some information about my mom that he would be willing to share."

Haley, still holding his hand, moved to sit next to him at the head of the bed. She kicked her shoes off onto the floor and carefully moved next to him so that they were both sitting near the box. "Can I see a picture of her?" she gently asked, curious about the woman who had taken Luke's father away. Karen tended to avoid any mention of Nathan's mom or the past in general, but Haley could sense that the older woman was bitter about Deb. Haley personally thought Karen was lucky to have escaped Dan Scott, regardless of what the impetus was.

She silently watched as Nathan moved some items around the box, looking for an old photo album. "These are some of the pictures I found a few years ago," he explained, holding the album out so they both could see. He flipped to a picture of his mom holding him a few days after he was born.

Nathan peered hard at the picture, as if an archeologist straining to unlock and discover hidden symbols from an artifact. "I know I totally look like dad," he offered, sad that he didn't carry more of his mother in his physical appearance.

Haley stared at the picture, seeing the woman's blonde features, her joy at newfound motherhood evident by the huge smile on her face. She studied the picture a moment before announcing, "You've got your mother's smile."

Nathan's eyes lit up at her words, never hearing that comparison before. "I do?" he asked, happiness washing over his overly serious face. She nodded, pointing out the laugh lines that were so similarly displayed on her 16-year-old son's face. "Right here… and here…" she pointed to the picture as she touched the corresponding places on his face. Haley realized what she was doing and jerked her hand away his face, almost as if scalded by the warmth she found there. Nathan frowned, liking the warmth of her small hand on his face, the gentle almost caressing way she held him.

Haley continued staring at him, her eyes as big as saucers. "I'm sorry, Nathan. I shouldn't have pawed you like that," she began, before he cut her off. "It's okay, it was kind of nice," he admitted, pulling her back to the center of the bed where he sat. He continued to flip through pictures of his family, stopping occasionally when Haley would point out a similarity between him and his mom. Reaching the last page, Nathan shut the book and put it back into the box, before leaning over the edge of the bed and sliding it out of sight.

"I guess that's enough emotional torture for one night," he lamely commented, convinced that Haley probably thought he was a basket case by now. She leaned back against the headboard, and looked over at him. "I didn't mind. It was nice seeing your mom and dad together. They looked really happy to be your parents," she offered, not convinced that Dan Scott should ever be allowed to father another child, but satisfied that the man at least abandoned Lucas for a family he genuinely cared about. Not that it would matter to Lucas on either count.

"I just don't understand why I'm thinking about her all the time after so many years," he replied, confusion written across his face. Everything Nathan saw reminded him of his mother. He'd never been able to talk to Dan about anything let alone his mother, and with Peyton, she had tended to break down anytime someone said the word 'mother' in her presence. Haley was different though; she was kind and supportive without being patronizing.

Haley took a deep breath, knowing that her words would either offer comfort or torment to her new found...friend. "Do you think maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is the point of which you've been without a mother longer than you had one?"

Nathan considered her words for a moment, realizing that she was right. Every day that past was a day that added to the time he'd been without his mom. This year marked the point of his life where she'd been gone longer than she was around. The thought was a sobering one, as Nathan realized every year would diminish the time spent with her, the time during which he had a mom. His eyes teared up a moment, actively fighting the sadness that was growing inside him.

Haley saw his eyes mist over and she hesitantly reached out and wrapped her arms around him in a quick embrace. She was surprised when his arms tightened around her, effectively trapping her against his warm, solid body. Nathan leaned into her small frame and laid his head on her shoulder, content to take the solace she offered him.

Relaxing against his much larger frame, Haley closed her eyes, inhaling his strong masculine scent, noting little details about him that she'd never noticed from their normal tutoring distance. His dark hair was coarse but smelled nice, a scent evocative of woods and warmth wafted up toward her nose. And while the proximity of their bodies was tantalizing, it was also safe, a protected haven from the larger world around them.

Reluctantly Nathan loosened his grip, knowing that the moment was over. She was either the kindest tutor in the world, or she was being very tolerant as a friend. He noticed that she didn't immediately move away from him, but rather remained cradled against his body, trapped between his strong thighs and broad chest. Nathan peered down at her from where he leaned back against the headboard, easily supporting her slight weight.

She gave him a small smile as she glanced down at her watch. "Oh wow…It's nearly 1 AM, I should be finding a way home," she noted, not sure how she'd get across town since Lucas was her ride to the party. And Haley wasn't sure that she wanted to seek her friend out, having seen the glazed, drunken expression in his eyes and the blanket he carried out of the house. And it's not like she could drive Keith's truck, as she had trouble handling the small Honda her parents occasionally let her drive.

Nathan stood up, following her off the bed. He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to where he stood in the center of the room. "Hey, when I asked you to come to the party, I promised you a beer and a dance," he reminded her, laughter creeping into his voice for the first time since their talk.

She smiled at him uncertainly, recalling his offer from earlier that day. "Well, I got a warm wine cooler, so I guess we'll have to call that good," she decided, not wanting to risk drinking a beer at this late hour. Nathan didn't let go of her hand, wanting an excuse to keep touching the warmth he associated with her and her kindness. "Or you could have that dance with me, so you'll know that I'm an honest host," he shyly suggested, wondering where all this trepidation was coming from. Nathan tended to take what he wanted from girls, without a concern for what they thought about him in the morning. But Haley was different…

She smiled at him, letting him pull her into his arms. "Hum, Nathan, there's no music," she pointed out, not sure what they were dancing to. Nathan smiled at her comment, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. "We don't need music to dance," he pointed out; swaying to his own rhythm, content just to have this girl in his arms. For the first time in a long time, Nathan Scott was happy.

Next: Dan and Karen reveal some secrets from the past.