Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of its characters.

A/N: Hi again. I'm here thanking all my readers and reviewers again. You guys are so awesome for sticking with this story. Love you all. And here's the next update.

The constant hovering got old real quick. Over the next week, Debra Scott rarely did any of her foundation work at home, and Dan Scott didn't go in the office, letting one of his employees, whom he'd recently bumped up to assistant manager, temporarily take over the dealership in his absence.

So all week they were there.

Over his shoulder. Or so it felt.

Only when his friends dropped by after school did they give him any space. And not much at that.

He was almost glad to go to therapy the next week just to get an hour away from them. He understood they were worried and were doing what they thought best. If he ever doubted their love before, their constant presence certainly quashed those doubts now.

He wished they'd back off, if only a little.

He nearly jumped for joy on the Monday of the next week when his parents said Principal Turner had called them and wanted to meet with them to discuss Nathan's options for the rest of the school year. Not that he cared about anything school related right now—or ever—but it meant they were leaving the house. Yes!

At first they wanted to drag him along but he managed to get out of that with a whole lot of complaining.

Instead they got a neighbor to come sit with him during their absence.

And for that, he felt absolutely ridiculous. He was seventeen years old. His parents were taking this thing a little too far.

….

"Think that was too much?" Deb asked Dan on the way to the school. "Are we being over paranoid like he said?" she added, recalling Nathan's protests at having someone called in to watch him.

Dan sighed, deep in thought. Yes, they were being extreme, but was it too much for a son who'd nearly killed himself? He shrugged his shoulders to indicate he didn't know. How was any parent to know how to react in such a situation? They could go ahead and give Nathan the space he requested, but what if they did that and then the space proved to be deadly? What if he wasn't as fine as he claimed, as the therapist claimed, and was just biding his time to try again?

So maybe they were going a bit too far, but he wasn't ready to chance losing his son forever.

He would never be ready for that. If he ever did lose Nathan, his own life would be over. He would lose all will for living. As bad a parent as he could be, and had been, Nathan was his whole world and it would collapse should anything happen to his boy.

He knew Deb felt the same. No one could call her mother of the year, but she loved her son and without him she would completely fall apart.

"Better to be over paranoid than go home and find him dead," Dan replied, to which Deb agreed. "I think we're just going to have to take this one day at a time."

Deb nodded agreeably and they drove the rest of the way in silence.

They were surprised to find Larry and Ellie waiting to speak to Principal Turner as well, but they realized they really shouldn't have been. After all, Peyton had missed as many classes as Nathan had.

"How's Peyton?" Deb asked them, hoping that after a week since her confrontation with Nathan, the girl was doing better.

No surprise she wasn't. Deb could certainly understand how devastating it was to be pushed out of Nathan's life.

Principal Turner came out of his office to where they waited and asked if they wanted to go in separately or if they minded going in together to save some time. None of the parents had a problem with going in together so that's what they did.

They all took their seats and listened to what the principal had to say.

"The two of them have missed a good six weeks," he said. "That's a lot to miss in one semester, especially when there are only three weeks left. Now, under the circumstances, I can certainly understand why they weren't able to be here."

He waited for the parents' reactions, and once they nodded in agreement, he continued. "I would like to be able to work something out so that the horrendous events that occurred right here at this school, at least, don't cause them to lose their entire semester."

"What do you suggest?" Ellie questioned.

"For Peyton," the principal replied. "Her grades were kept up so a special assignment in each of her classes, as well as her attendance for the remaining of the semester, should be enough to make up for lost time. Is that feasible at all? Or is she too distraught yet to come back?"

"I'm not sure," Larry said. "She's still very vulnerable, and to be honest, I don't know if she could handle it."

"Very well, we can work around that too," Turner said. "What if the school offered her private tutoring sessions at home? Would that work better for her?"

"Again, I can't really say," Larry responded.

"Talk to her," the principal suggested. "I'd hate to have to hold back a bright student for reasons beyond her control."

Larry and Ellie both nodded, stating they would discuss it with Peyton when they got home.

"As for Nathan," Tuner went on, speaking to Dan and Deb now. "As you know, he was already struggling academically before any of this happened, so you can understand how this long absence has put him that much further behind. Now we can assign him special projects too, but I'm afraid even if he does well on those, it won't be enough."

"So, what are you saying exactly?" Deb questioned.

"That he's either looking at summer school or repeating junior year," the principal replied. "I'm sorry," he added of the Scotts' forlorn expressions. "I wish there was more I could do, but those are really his only options."

"So," Dan began. "Say he does well in the extra assignments and summer school, come September he'd be starting as a senior with his friends?"

"If he does well in both, absolutely. Now we can offer him private tutoring for the rest of the semester as well if he's not ready to come back just yet. However, for summer classes, he'll have to be here."

He waited for the parents' nods before concluding the meeting. "Think about it," he said. "Go home, talk to your kids, and let me know what you decide."

…..

"I want to go to school," Nathan said when his parents broached the subject to him.

"Sweetie, are you sure?" Deb questioned with concern. "Because the school offered to provide a private tutor, and you might find that easier than…"

"I already have a private tutor," Nathan cut off. "Mouth." Was his mother actually trying to discourage him from school?

"Yes, but are you sure you're ready to go back there?"

"I'm sure," he replied. He was beyond ready. Not for school per say, but just to escape his parents' looming presence for a while.

Dan and Deb exchanged worried glances until Nathan practically begged them to let him go. "I'll check in like, morning, noon and last period," he pleaded. "Mom, Dad, come on, I need to get my life back to normal and I really don't want to do junior year all over again."

"You'll have to do summer school too," Dan said.

Nathan nodded agreeably and after that they gave in. They couldn't exactly tell him he wasn't allowed to go to school, now could they?

….

Peyton had to exact opposite reaction. The idea of stepping back into that school nearly sent her into a panic attack. "Don't make me go back there," she cried. "If you do, I won't stay. I'll…I'll…"

"Ok, honey, honey, calm down," Ellie said soothingly as she touched her daughter's arm softly. "We're not going to make you do anything, ok?"

Peyton nodded but looked to Larry for confirmation. After all, didn't they continuously tell her that he had all the parental control?

Larry nodded affirmatively. "We'll call Principal Tuner in the morning and tell him we'll take him up on the tutoring. Sound good?"

Peyton nodded, although the last thing she cared about right now was school.

All she'd thought about all week were the words Nathan had spoken to her outside the hospital. And how when he'd first exited the door he'd been laughing with his mother.

His mother! He hated his mother. That's what he always claimed. Yet he'd been happy and carefree until he'd spotted Peyton, the girl he swore he'd love forever.

Apparently forever didn't really mean forever.

So no, she wasn't at all interested in academics right now, or in having a tutor.

But at least those two things didn't grip her with the fear she felt at the prospect of going back in that school.

Given a choice between the two, then she had to say, bring on the tutor.

…..

Nathan returned to school the very next day, much at his own insistence. His friends welcomed him back enthusiastically, but he could tell early on that even they walked on egg shells around him. They all believed the story in the paper about his attempted suicide.

He tried to tell them the story was bogus but they seemed unsure. He understood that. He knew he hadn't been himself lately and they, no doubt, had noticed.

He would have to prove to them, as well as his parents, that he was fine.

Except he wasn't all that fine. He still harbored the shame of his actions, and they weighed upon him like heavy weights. He couldn't help that.

Jake apologized to him first thing for having testified against him in court and for doubting his innocence, but he brushed the apology off, claiming, once again, that he was guilty of Haley's rape so there was no need for Jake to be sorry.

That only made his friends worry more. They thought he'd be past the guilt by now. But how was he to escape how he felt?

He received a lot of looks when he first walked in. No surprise there. He ignored them all, whether they were pleasant looks or ones of disdain. Or at least he tried to ignore them. It wasn't really that easy.

By lunch time he met up with Mouth in the tutor center to discuss the extra projects he would have in all his classes and to work out their schedules accordingly. He knew very well that he would never be able to pass them all without Mouth's help. Mouth had no problem reinstating his position as Nathan's tutor.

But his friend's grades weren't Mouth's biggest concern. "How have you been?" he asked him seriously.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Ok," he answered.

"Really?" Mouth pressed. "Because, you know, if you ever need to talk…"

"Thanks," Nathan cut off. "But I've already got a shrink," he added, having had that same offer countless times already from his other friends and even a few teachers. They meant well, he knew, but he wasn't really a talker, except for with a select few. He felt they should know that.

"Ok, sorry," Mouth said, not knowing what to say or how to act.

"It's cool," Nathan said with another shrug, letting Mouth off the hook. He knew the guy felt uncomfortable and he didn't want it that way. "I'd just rather stick to school work for now, if you don't mind."

"No problem," Mouth replied with a nod. He might have been hurt by the brush off if he didn't know Nathan was doing the same to all his friends.

The tutoring session was cut short as soon as Haley walked in the tutor center and Nathan saw her. She, like Peyton, was one he couldn't face. He wanted so badly to apologize to her for doing what he did, but he wasn't ready for that, nor did he know how she would take it.

He stood up, mumbling a few words to Mouth before rushing out of the room. He didn't know why he hadn't considered running into Haley when he'd been pleading with his parents to let him come back. And he felt like a total dick for being in the tutor center now. This was her place.

So he went to his place-the gym- and found some of the guys in there. He didn't feel much like talking so he snuck into the locker room instead and hoped none of them spotted him.

No such luck. Tim saw him and followed him in.

Nathan sighed, hating the thought of having to make conversation. He knew Tim missed their hang out time, but he was just going to have to deal.

He realized when Tim pulled out a flask from his locker and offered it to him that he didn't give his friend nearly enough credit. He hadn't followed him in to complain or force him to talk about anything. Clearly he was just trying to draw the old Nathan back. The real Nathan.

Nathan eyed the flask for several moments. For weeks he hadn't allowed himself the luxury of getting drunk and forgetting everything for a while.

But damn, it was tempting just being waved around in front of him like that. He shouldn't get to forget, he told himself for the umpteenth time. But maybe just this once…

Oh hell, why not? Resisting temptation had never been his strong suit.

He took the flask from Tim's hand and chugged down half the bottle in one gulp. "That all you got?" he asked Tim, who smiled in return and opened his locker wider to reveal another bottle.

"Plus more in the trunk outside," Tim said. "Ditch?" he asked hopefully.

Nathan pondered it for maybe half a second before nodding his head. "Ditch."

They stuffed both bottles in Tim's bag and headed out of the school toward the parking lot.

They didn't leave said parking lot, but rather sat on the hood of Tim's parents' car and drank all afternoon.

It was Jake who found them first because he was always the first of their friends to leave, in a hurry to go home to Jenny so his parents could get to work.

He wasn't expecting to find his friends drunk out of their minds, laughing hysterically at their own jokes.

He shook his head. "Tim, what'd you do, man? Why'd you let him drink?" he rebuked. The last thing Nathan needed was more trouble and Tim should know that, even if he was dense most times.

But the shorter guy just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "He wanted to. And look, we have Nate back."

Jake couldn't deny that. It certainly was more Nathan-like to drown his sorrows than bask in them.

But still, he couldn't imagine Dan and Deb would be too pleased to learn that on his first day back to school, he'd spent half of it drinking.

Nathan must have figured that out too, for he asked Jake if he could call them and tell them he was going to his house.

Jake hesitated, but Nathan was quick to convince him, knowing his parents would be on his case the minute he walked in the door if he showed up like this. "Besides, you owe me, remember?" Nathan pressed.

"Fine," Jake said, a little miffed to be put in such a position. Nathan always had been good at talking people into stuff. Plus, Jake did feel like he owed the guy one for the whole court thing. He didn't like lying, hated it actually, but he would do it, albeit reluctantly. "But," he stressed. "You're not coming to my house." His daughter really didn't need to be exposed to drunken idiots just yet. "I'll drop you off somewhere, but that's it."

"Hey, that's cool," Nathan slurred, understanding that neither he nor Tim were in any shape to drive. "How 'bout my parents' beach house?"

"If that's where you want to go," Jake agreed. "But let's go. I gotta get home." He was already running late because of them.

He drove them to the beach house as requested and went on his way.

He did think to call Brooke though, just so she could maybe swing by the beach house and check in. Make sure they didn't do anything reckless.

…..

"Ok, yeah, no problem. I will. Thanks, Jake," Brooke said before ending the phone call and a huge smile spreading across her face.

"Good news?" Chase asked her.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered, and then repeated all Jake had told her.

Chase's brow shot up curiously. "Getting drunk at school? How's that a good thing?"

"I know it sounds bad," she acknowledged. "But it's a good thing because, if you know how Nathan usually deals with anything, whether good or bad, you'd know that this means he's being himself again."

"Ok, if you say so," Chase said. He did recall having seen Nathan drunk on a few occasions. Once at a party when he and Peyton had been arguing, to let off steam, and another to celebrate his release from prison. And, of course, there was the night of Mouth's party. He hadn't been there for that one, but still he knew the guy had been drinking. Three times, just in the short time he and Brooke had started dating.

"I do," Brooke stated confidently. "And once he's back to normal, then Peyton can get back to normal, and then I'll have my best friends back," she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

Chase sure hoped she was right, not only for Nathan and Peyton's sake, but for Brooke's as well. Especially Brooke's. It was so nice to see her smiling again and he wanted to keep it that way.

"So, boyfriend," she said sexily. "Feel like joining him on his drinking binge?"

He chuckled at that. "Not really," he answered. "But I can watch while you do. Be your designated driver and all that."

"Best boyfriend, ever," she said with a dimpled smile, perfectly content with his suggestion.

…..

"Tim!" Brooke exclaimed when they made it to the beach house and found Tim passed out on the floor, with no sign of Nathan.

She shook him hard until, finally, he stirred.

"What?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Where's Nathan?" Brooke demanded to know.

Tim sat up, scratching his head in confusion. "He was just here," he said, looking around.

"Well, he's not now," Brooke returned. "Did he happen to mention going somewhere?"

Tim thought about that a second before nodding. "Uh yeah, he talked about going to get food."

"Where?"

"I have no idea."

"And you just let him go by himself?"

"Yeah," Tim replied, not seeing the problem.

"You're an idiot. Jake should have known better than to trust you to keep an eye on Nathan."

"Nate doesn't need anyone to keep an eye on him, Brooke," Tim said.

"Umm yeah, he does," Brooke replied snidely. "If you'll recall, he just tried to kill himself."

"No he didn't."

"And how do you know that?"

"He told me."

"Is there any wonder people call you Dim?" Brooke spat. "Of course he'll say he didn't. What do you expect?"

"Brooke, calm down," Tim said, unperturbed. "Nathan's fine. He was hungry, that's all."

"You'd better hope that's all," Brooke retorted. "Because if he's out doing something stupid, I'm holding you responsible."