"One more time."

"This is a great social experience. It'll give you a chance to meet some classmates without the added pressure of high school. This way you'll actually know people, sort out who you like and don't, and find people to hang with in the fall. Otherwise you'll be a bitter old hag who eats alone at lunch. Pretty depressing if you ask me."

"I don't remember using the word hag. Or bitter. Hell that was not the speech at all."

"I might have tweaked it a little but the point is still there."

"Maybe I would enjoy being alone at lunch. Or, I could just hang out with you. Who needs friends? Friends just cause unnecessary drama and peer pressure. And let me tell you, boy am I feeling that pressure now. Not cool."

"Everybody needs friends. Someone to complain to when they have a bad day or to go shopping with on a good one. You worry way too much. It'll be fun. And here I thought you'd be the queen of having a good time."

"I'm the queen of getting myself into trouble. And yes, that's what this is. We are right on track."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, this is…"

"If you say fun again I will strangle you."

I stopped and turned to look at her and glared. This only caused the smile on her young face to grow.

I pulled up my shirt for the hundredth time just to have my hand slapped for the hundredth and one time. This is what I get for packing slutty clothes and then letting Kate go threw my suitcase. I tried to pull the scooping v- neck just a little higher up just to see if it would cover up my boobs a little more. No such luck when it fell right back down. I looked over at her again and grimaced when I wondered what Mark and Emma would think if they had seen there little girl leave the house.

She was in a short jean skirt and a sky blue tank top that scooped down stopping to show off just the top of her cleavage. She definitely didn't look 14 and I definitely wasn't in Kansas.

"You know he said 'small get together.' We could be dressed like this for nothing. Just popcorn and a movie and a whole hell of a lot of staring. At us. Can you say awkward?"

"Awkward. Besides, Lucas says that all the time. Then at 2am you can still hear the music blaring. It's a cover. Just in case you told my parents." She grabbed my arm and pulled me the rest of the way to the house. Right as we reached the front door it opened and a short blonde ran out screaming incoherent things. I looked over at Kaitlyn before turning on my heels and started back across the lawn.

"The last thing I need is for that to be you. I'll be in so much trouble."

"I'm not stupid enough to drink. Let alone get drunk. Give me some credit. Please. This is my night." She whispered the last part causing me to close my eyes. I heard her whisper 'Please' again then she started tugging me.

Before I could think twice we were in the doorway of the Scott house and it certainly looked different then the last time I had been here. It was no longer clean and organized. It no longer looked homey. It honestly looked like a frat house.

There were kids everywhere each with a plastic cup in hand. Some were making out against the wall, some were just talking, and some were arguing. As we walked further in I saw people had turned what was the living room into the dance area. And some of those moves should be illegal. I turned to Kate and as we started to head in the other direction we both almost smacked into a couple.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching…Hey, Kate. I didn't know you were coming."

I looked up from my jeans to the curly blonde who leaned in to hug Kate. The guy next to her, I assume her boyfriend, did the same.

"This is Haley." Both of their gazes shifted to me and I found myself wanting to fix my shirt again. "Haley, this is Peyton and Jake." She pointed first to the blonde then to the brunette male and I fixed a smile on my face and accepted the hand Jake extended.

"Brooke told me about you. Said you were living next door. Nathan has also talked about you some too." Peyton said as her eyes narrowed and darted quickly between Kate and myself. I found myself doing the same. I did not like this girl already.

"They are both nice. Lucas as well. They have made me feel welcome."

"They're nice people. Very trusting. Gullible if you will."

"Nice of you to speak highly of your friends."

"I'm just saying we watch out for our own here. Even if some get carried away with making people comfortable. You best..."

"Peyton." It wasn't hard to miss the warning in his tone as Jake grabbed her arm and sent me a smile. He then shifted his attention to Kate, angling so he was between me and the bitch. "You having fun, Kate? This isn't usually your scene."

"Well, I'm going to be in high school soon. So I figured what the hell." She lifted her hands in the air and dropped then before looking around the room. "It's kinda cool. There's so much going on all at once."

"That there is. Just be careful alright. We don't want to lose you in one night." Jake tugged at her hair before grabbing Peyton's hand and pulled her back in the direction they came. "It was nice to meet you Haley." He called over his shoulder. I waited until they were out of sight before I turned back to Kaitlyn.

"Cute."

"Taken."

"Never stopped me before."

When she turned to me her mouth was to the floor causing me to let out a laugh and I patted her cheek. She grabbed my hand and dragged me into another room. This one had to be the kitchen and, believe it or not, it seemed to be even more crowed then the rest of the house.

I heard Kate giggle and pinch my arm and I looked to where she was pointing. When I did my hands flew to cover her eyes causing her giggle to change to full out laughter. There was a full out three-some going on on the counter and no one seemed fazed by it.

"We definitely aren't in Kansas anymore."

Nathan Scott grabbed his cup off the counter before retreating out of the back doors. Fresh air. Finally. Nathan enjoyed a good party, and this certainly was a good party, but tonight, tonight he just wasn't in the mood. He wasn't in the mood for all the drunken people throwing themselves at everybody and the loud music. Frankly it was giving him a headache.

He put his cup up to his temple and hoped the cold would make the throbbing ease just a little. He went to the porch swing and decided it was the best place to hide out. Off to the side of the back deck, in the dark where the back light didn't quite hit, no one would find him in less they were looking. And he knew no one would look. Or he prayed at least. He pushed at the deck and lifted his feet a few inches and let it swing before resting his head back and let his eyes close.

He must really be losing it. If Nathan Scott would rather be chilling out, alone, during a party then something was seriously wrong. There were a million ready and willing girls inside yet that meant nothing. He just couldn't get into it.

He kicked again, making sure the swing didn't stop and sighed.

Maybe there was something wrong with him. There was. He knew it. That something had long blonde hair and dark chocolate brown eyes. And her petite yet curvy body fit so well with him. Not to mention her lips….

Nathan sat up quickly, cursing when the swing slammed into the back of his leg. What the hell was he doing? He had to stop thinking about her. She was gone. She didn't even say goodbye to him. This was stupid. She was just a girl. A girl who wasn't interested and wasn't even here anymore. She didn't matter. But why the hell couldn't he stop thinking about her. This had never happened to him. Maybe once, with Megan Fox, but that was different.

With his elbows on his knees he went back to massaging his temples. What a killer headache. And it was only getting worse. He was only a second away from telling everyone to go home. This was unbearable.

His back went stiff when he heard the door open and he quickly went back to praying that no one would see him. He scooted to the furthest end of the swing so he was fully in the dark and willed the intruder back inside.

"No one is out here. This is lame. Please, come one. Inside. Now."

"Breather. Fresh air. My eyes and head need a break. Now."

"For a 'bad girl' who is always causing trouble you are being super soft."

"I only cause trouble when I want to be in trouble to get…. Ugh! never mind. It's complicated. I don't want to get in trouble, yet. I feel like a bad influence. This isn't fun."

Nathan listened as one of the girls laughed and the other moaned. He knew those voices. He knew he did. He just couldn't place them.

"Can we please go back in? I'm still Drew and it's driving me crazy."

"You are going to be her for a little longer. It's not going to happen tonight. Get over it."

"You probably were like 6. So not fair."

"Try 5…."

"Slut"

"…And that's not the point. You and I are very different. Don't compare us. We are on opposite ends of the spectrum."

"I just want to go inside, find some people I know, and have a little fun. Then we can go."

"And I just want to stay out here. Breathe normal air and go. Since I'm older I win."

"How about I go in, mingle and you stay here. Like 10 minutes tops. Nothing can happen in 10 minutes. We'll both get what we want. Please."

"The fact that you think nothing can happen in 10 minutes just proves…"

"Seriously? I don't need a lecture. Come on!"

"Alright, I guess. But I'm timing you."

Nathan groaned again at the shriek and door slamming and closed his eyes again. He hated girls and their high pitched voices. And now someone he knew yet didn't know at the same time was out here and his peace was gone. It was going to be a very long time before he threw another party that was for sure. He hated people. He hated parties. He hated everything.

"I was wondering where you were."

Nathan sighed to himself before opening his eyes. He blinked a few time trying to adjust to the darkness and was only able to make out the outline of the girl.

"Here I am." He stood up and made his way to the other side of the porch and blinked several times again as he came in contact with light.

"Lucas invited me. I hope its ok."

"If Luke invited you I'm sur….Haley?" Nathan's annoyance turned quickly to shock then from shock to happiness. "What? When? How?"

"Lucas didn't tell you about our talk yesterday?" I asked pointing over my shoulder to the Marshall's backyard. When he just continued to stare at me I had my answer. "It's cool I'm here right?"

"Yes!" He answered enthusiastically before clearing his throat. "I...I mean, sure. It's alright." He added on as I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

"You aren't enjoying the party?"

"Hmm? Oh, no. I have a slight headache and needed a break from all the noise and people. Sounds lame, huh? Ditching your own party?"

"I'm ditching your party."

Nathan let out a small laugh and nodded. I walked to where he previously came from and sat on the swing. "Nice hiding spot."

"I like it. What are you doing here?"

"I already told you. Lucas…"

"I thought you left. The last time I saw you you told me you might be leaving. And then I didn't hear from you and now…I'm just surprised to see you is all." He ran a hand threw his hair before sitting down next to me. "I was ups…I, um, I thought I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

"Sorry. I was grounded. Stop. Gosh you are just like you're brother." I slapped his arm as a smile appeared on his face. What was with these boys and finding my grounding so entertaining? I guess it was obvious from the house party going on inside they don't know much about discipline but come on. It's not that funny.

I looked down and noticed he had grabbed my hand and couldn't help but take notice of the sparks I felt when I felt his thumb caressing my hand.

"Nathan…"

"I missed you. It's crazy how I am just getting to know you and yet I feel so close to you already. Tell me you feel the same." He lifted our combined hands and used them to lift my chin, making me look at him.

"I, I don't know. My head is spinning. You know nothing about me and trust me, that's for the best. The more you know the less you'll like."

"I doubt it."

"I know it! I'm not your type. Not even close. I don't know how to be normal and I don't know what it's like to be stable. I don't come from big houses and generations of money. I'm not the take-home-to-meet-your-parents kind of girl and frankly…"

He grabbed me by the back of my head and pulled me to him.

"I like you Haley. I don't care where you come from and honestly, I don't think I'm the type you take home either. I like you."

"I can't. I can't do this with you."

"Why?"

He dropped his head and kissed the top of mine before placing his forehead on mine.

"Give me one good reason why."

I looked up and stared up into his eyes and lost all control of my thoughts. Every argument I had as to why this was wrong was completely gone. Without thinking twice I leaned up and closed the distance.