A Season in Purgatory
Chapter 39

Lucas stood in silence, listening to the calming water of the Tree Hill Park Fountain. It had been presented to the town eons ago in memorial to the town veterans. An ironic smile formed on his face. That's what he was…a veteran. There could be no world war as personally devastating as the Scott Family civil war.

Hearing a noise behind him, Lucas attempted to hide the now empty champagne bottle under his rumpled Dan suit jacket. He visibly sighed as Brooke stepped out into the glare of the street light near the fountain.

"Hey, Broody," she casually commented, noting the trace of tears on his face and the stiffness of his posture. "Looks like the bubbly didn't do much for you," she said, moving in closer so that she could rub the tension out of his shoulders.

He relaxed under her massaging hands, attempting to let go of the anger that manifested itself in his soul. "I needed something stronger than champagne but you drank the entire flask," he said, his tone full of reprisal.

"Nate helped me," she cheerfully pointed out, fully expecting the nasty look he gave her. He hated that Brooke's best friend was his worst enemy. "I could try to score another bottle of that," she helpfully offered, always leery of his bad moods. She could tell by his posture and broody expression that it was going to be a long night.

Shaking his head, Lucas dejectedly sat on the edge of the fountain, head in hands as he contemplated the cracks in the cement surrounding the monument. Cracks which mimicked the ways his family was fracturing and splitting apart, disrupting the surface of his life.

"I can't risk anymore booze, Brooke. My mom's already signed me up for those alcohol awareness classes at the hospital," he explained. He knew he consumed any more champagne, that he'd run the risk of being tipsy when he finally found his way home. And the way Karen was staring at him during the fight with Roy ensured that he'd face another lecture when he got home. "If she catches me drinking again, she'll probably ship me off to a boot camp." He was saddened at the loss of trust they used to share. Lucas didn't think a bit of alcohol was bad when your life was as screwed up as his. It helped him relax and he desperately needed something to take away the tension that was constantly threatening to overwhelm him.

Brooke's cute nose crinkled up at his words. "She's got a major bug up her ass about me and the booze," Brooke solemnly commented. It was nothing new; most parents disapproved of her in one way or another. Nate was one of the few friends she had whose parent didn't fear the influence she had over their child.

Lucas looked up at her, not surprised that Brooke had picked up on his mother's antagonism toward the perky girl. "She'll get over it. Mom's just afraid you're corrupting me," he explained, not really having any words to soothe the pain for his girlfriend.

Brooke hiked up the side of her dress, straddling his legs as she lowered herself onto Lucas. "I'm very good at some types of corruption," she teased, placing small kisses around his face. There were in a secluded part of the park, but were still publicly located.

Her lips finally found his, delighting in their softness as compared to the scruffy goatee that rubbed her chin enticingly. She slid her tongue into his warm mouth, grinding her hips slightly into his with each passing second. Lucas groaned into her mouth, knowing that he was minutes away from disaster from her impromptu lap dance. She abruptly pulled away, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from the concrete fountain.

"Let's go back to my place and I'll give you a nice, very long private show,"
she sensually whispered, causing all the right reactions in the boy. He followed her, watching in delight as her curvy body preceded him away from the fountain. A noise to his right drew his attention, and he watched as Haley and Nathan walked by, clearly in the middle of their own romantic walk. Luke gave Nate a polite nod and Haley an actual smile, before he ran off to catch up with his muse.

Nathan watched as Brooke skipped out of the park, followed by his obviously horny older brother. He fought the urge to make a derogatory remark, knowing that it wouldn't be welcomed by his companion. He looked down at Haley and smiled, something about just being with her made him happy.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, snapping him out of his thoughts. She smiled up at him, taking in how handsome he looked in his suit. She wasn't sure if they were dating or not, but she couldn't help but think girls like her didn't land guys like Nathan Scott.

He paused at the fountain, taking in her words. "What am I thinking?" he challenged, wondering just how well Haley James knew him.

"You're thinking nasty Lucas thoughts, but you're staying quiet so I won't get mad," she conjectured, knowing she was correct by the way his eyes crinkled up at her observations.

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, so you know me pretty well," he admitted. They'd gone to a few movies and he thought things were moving pretty well, if not slow. Normally, girls threw themselves at his feet and he didn't have to worry about being nice or calling them in order to get a date. But Haley was different. She was smart and sweet and kind, all the things that Nate wasn't sure he deserved.

She moved her skirt carefully, sitting properly on the edge of the fountain. She knew she couldn't compete with Brooke Davis, but she thought she'd looked great for the wedding. It wasn't often that Haley sang in public, but she'd walk across hot coals for Keith.

"I thought you sang really pretty tonight," he lamely offered, knowing that he didn't have the articulate words that his brother had. "I didn't know you sang." He didn't know a lot about her but he found that he wanted to know more. That was a marked difference from how he'd been with Peyton. Haley was really the only girl he'd ever wanted to just talk to, outside of Brooke.

She blushed at his words, taking in how sweet Nathan could be when he wanted to. She found his uncertainty with her both charming and strange. After all, he was so confident in everything he did. It was kind of nice that he wasn't the swaggering ego that her presented most of the time at school.

"I don't usually sing for people," she said, then tried to clarify. "I'm more of a shower kind of singer."

He nodded at her words, casually picking up her hand in the process. They sat there for a few minutes, a comfortable silence accompanied by the gentle sounds of the water flowing from the fountain. "It's a shame that such a nice wedding had to be destroyed like that," he said, unable to remain quiet on that topic. His boneheaded brother had single-handily managed to wreck havoc on Keith and Anna's big day.

Haley's smile immediately vanished, her shoulders tensing up at the attack she knew was forming. He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "It's true, Haley, Lucas totally started a fight."

"Nate, I know it's hard for you to be objective, but Lucas was just reacting to your grandfather chasing him around all night," she explained, completely aware that the wedding turned into chaos toward the end. "It's not totally Luke's fault. He spent all day avoiding your grandparents."

Nate sighed in exasperation. "What's so horrible about them wanting to meet the guy? It's not their fault he's angry at the world," Nate expressed, tired of his half brother's hysterics. He'd spent his entire life trying to get Royal's attention and outside of basketball, he'd failed. Yet Lucas walked into a wedding and had the entire Scott family chasing him around like a puppy.

"The point isn't that they want to meet him but how everyone in your family keeps backing Luke into a corner. He's never going to let his defenses down if your family keeps forcing him to talk to them," she tenderly explained, knowing that Karen and Dan were totally missing this point. She knew Lucas better than anyone and Haley feared that Karen was making a huge mistake.

"I just don't know how Brooke puts up with this," he continued on, ignoring the warning looks Haley was sending him.

"What does this have to do with Brooke?" she asked, amazed at how that girl managed to work her way into every topic of conversation, even when she wasn't present.

Nathan sat beside her, careful not to crush the skirt of her pretty dress. "Every birthday party that Brooke ever had ended up with her parents screaming at each other about something. They ruined every birthday she ever had. I can't believe she'd get caught up in all Luke's drama," he proclaimed, feeling sorry for his friend.

"Luke's drama?" she asked incredulously. "Brooke is a text book definition of drama. I wouldn't worry about Lucas adding to her angst," she finally commented. Haley was aware that they were on thin ice and that their best friends would always be a problem in their relationship.

Nathan shook his head. "I guess we should probably just stop talking about those two," he suggested, knowing that it was a short term solution. But he really liked this girl and he didn't want to ruin a relationship because his brother was an idiot.

Haley nodded in agreement, happy that they were avoiding a full fledge fight. "I agree. Let's tank this relationship based on our mistakes, not theirs," she commented, before flushing at the meaning of her words. "Not that we are in a relationship," she hastily remarked, horrified that she'd said that.

Laughing, Nathan put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. "I wouldn't mind if we were….you know…dating or something," he mumbled, the words falling out with uncharacteristic rapidity. "We've seen two movies, gone to a wedding, told each other our life stories and shared a ton of secrets. I think we could try officially dating."

Haley's smile lit up her face, and she leaned in closer to him, kissing him full on the lips. "Yeah, I think we could try that," she said, laughing as the surprise faded from his face and he began kissing her back.

Anna thanked her last guest before turning toward her new family. It was finally over and all she could think about was walking across the street to the hotel and spending the rest of her life with her husband. "That went well, I think," she voiced out loud to no one in particular. Of course, if you ignored the near brawl between her father in law and nephew, it was the perfect wedding.

Keith wrapped his arms around her, settling them protectively on her waist. "It was an awesome wedding," he commented, having let the near fight go. He had to expect volatile things from his family. It was just in their nature.

Karen stood around directing the caterers in the break down of the tables. She grabbed an extra bottle of champagne and handed it to Anna. "You should take this to the honeymoon suite with you," she said, a mischievous sparkle in her eye. She was happy for Keith. He'd found a great girl to marry and she wished them both all the happiness she'd hoped for herself.

Anna stared at the bottle a moment, before handing it Roy and May. "I can't drink any alcohol, but I'm sure you two will put this to good use," she said, ignoring the incredulous looks Dan and Karen exchanged. They could only think of a few reasons that she couldn't drink on her wedding day and neither of them wanted to dwell on them.

Slapping his brother on the back, Dan pushed Keith toward the sidewalk. "If I just got married, I'd not be standing in the park talking to my family," he hinted, motioning toward the bride. "I'll get Karen and the parents home."

Keith smiled at Karen, enjoying the fact that he could finally have the various parts of his family together in one area. Well, almost all of his family. He had to give Lucas time to adjust. He'd been such a great help to Anna during the wedding, walking her down the aisle and giving her away like a pro. Keith knew his wife was wiggling her way into his nephew's heart. It was just a matter of time before the boy could learn to trust his own father.

"Okay, we're off to do married things," Anna announced, giving Keith's arm a tug. They smiled at the crowd before making their way to the hotel across the street.

Karen leaned closer to Dan and murmured, "She is soooooo pregnant." He looked at his ex with a knowing glance and agreed. "Ten dollars says that they make the announcement in the next month," he joked, glad that the night had ended up on a positive note. He couldn't change the state of affairs with his oldest son, but he could try to make things better for the rest of his family.

He watched as his parents made their way to his SUV and wrapped his arm in hers. "Let's get you home before something else happens," he said, steering her towards home.

More soon. Thanks for reading.