Peyton woke up to the sound of a screechy voice and bouncing on her bed. She turned tiredly to her left to see Brooke laughing.

Peyton hit her with her pillow and groaned, "What? It's early... go home."

Brooke smiled, "Okay, best friend, this is your fault. You spend all your time with Nathan and none of your time with me. Not cool. You're forgetting about me, and I didn't even think that was possible!"

"Brooke, I saw you YESTERDAY."

"Oh shut up. Anyways, I'm guessing that you know all the details about this end of summer beach party at Nathan's, and well, for some reason, I'm clueless, so... fill me in."

Peyton sighed and sat up, "You woke me up to find out about the party? I should kill you."

Brooke, "but you won't, so..."

"Okay, it's... at Nathan's, which you already knew. The beach house... which you already knew. Um, it starts at 11?"

"Nope, midnight. Well, that's when the real party starts," a male voice said and Peyton jumped.

"Nathan," Peyton said, "what are you doing here?"

"At my girlfriend's house?" he laughed, "well, I was going to wake you up with a kiss, but if Brooke already did that then now I'm just pissed that I didn't get to watch."

"Oh shut up. I hope you catch on fire." She laughed, pulling his arm down to her and kissing him.

"Oh God, you two are pathetic-ville, I'm out," Brooke said, leaving.

Nathan laughed and sat down in Brooke's spot on the bed, cuddling up to Peyton.

"So, miss me?"

Peyton groaned and looked over at her alarm clock, "You left like... 6 hours ago, so... no."

He grinned and kissed her, pulling her close, "Sure." He paused and sighed, "So, are you sure about tonight? You know I don't want to push you."

Peyton bit her bottom lip and looked away from him, "Why is it that everybody thinks you're a jerk, Nathan? I mean, if you are, then you're really freakin' good at covering it up. I trust you, you know that."

Nathan looked at her, "So that means..."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

When Peyton pulled up to Nathan's beach house, the party was already in full swing. The music was roaring and a few people were already puking in the sand by the stairs. She avoided them and climbed the familiar steps. She checked her reflection in the window and began to fix her hair, only to recognize a face on the other side.

She laughed to herself, "Hey babe."

He smiled, "You look hot. You don't need a mirror to tell you that."

She laughed and went through the door, joining him.

"So, you want a beer?" he said, putting his arm around her

She didn't get the chance to answer because she was interrupted by a Brooke.

"Hey GIRLFRIEND, looking SEXY!" Brooke said, putting her arm around Peyton.

"Well somebody's trashed," Peyton said, putting her arm around her and beginning to head towards the bathroom.

She smiled to Nathan and whispered, "I'll see you later," and threw in a wink.