A/N: Hey everyone! I am back with another update. Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews. I'm glad you're all excited for the bonfire/party. It's going to be an interesting night. I'll tell you that. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's pretty long. Well I love you! I'd love hear/read what you think! Please read and review :)

xoxo, Annie

Chapter 4// Highway to Hell

"Ugh this is ugly!" I grumbled as I removed the yellow T-shirt that I had on and walked towards the closet.

I had about an hour before Nathan was coming over to pick me up for the bonfire tonight, and I still didn't have anything to wear. I only had on a pair of blue jean shorts and well . . . a black bikini. I couldn't figure out what top I wanted to wear. It was stressing the hell out of me. I could walk out of here with just my bikini and I would've been fine, but since Nathan was picking me up I wasn't going to risk that. He was a guy after all.

"Haley, honey." I turned away from the closet and noticed my grandmother slowly opening the door.

"Hey," I greeted as I reached over to grab my red and black tanks.

"What are you doing?" she asked, walking closer. I realized that I was still in my bikini top and gave her an apologetic look. I quickly put the black tank on and stepped in front of the vanity mirror.

"I'm trying to find a nice top to wear tonight. I can't seem to find the right one," I explained.

"That one looks good," she said, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

I turned a little and looked at my figure and sighed. "I don't know. It looks too plain," I said tugging the shirt down. "I like the style of it. Maybe if I wear the red one –" I quickly grabbed the red one, removed the black one, tossed it on the ground and slipped on the red strappy tank.

"Yeah, I agree. The black one was too plain," Gram stated as she smiled at me in the mirror.

I smiled back, blew out a relieving breath and picked up the mess I made on the floor.

"So Nathan's coming to pick you up, right?" she asked.

I held the pile of clothes in my arms and walked towards the closet and tossed them inside. "Yep," I answered. I turned around and she glared at me. I knew it was because of the way I just threw my clothes in the closet, but I was in a hurry. I had no time to neatly put them back on their hangers.

"I'll clean it up when I get back," I said. "I promise." She nodded and the glare in her eyes disappeared.

On the way home from the bakery earlier today, I told her about the invite to the bonfire. She was surprisingly enthused that I was going out with the Scott brothers tonight. She knew that there was going to be drinking and she had no problem with that. At home, my parents would've made a fit if they knew that I drank before. Olivia was the only one in the family who knew. I had written her a few letters about some of my bad experiences at parties. She thought it was funny and even shared her own experiences during her high school years. My grandmother was not Miss Innocent back then.

"I'm glad that you and Nathan are becoming friends."

I grabbed the Chap Stick from my purse and starting applying it on my lips. "Yeah, me too. He's not too bad."

She let out a small chuckle as she started randomly fluffing my pillows. "So, do you think he's cute?"

I scoffed. "I - I don't know," I replied. I stopped applying the Chap Stick and shoved it back into my purse.

"Come on now. Be honest," she stated.

I pouted for a moment and rolled my eyes. I wasn't going to deny it. Nathan was a very handsome guy. He had a full head of raven black hair and amazingly blue-green eyes. And he definitely owned a nice body. He didn't even have to flex for his muscles to show. And his smile wasn't so bad to look at either. "Fine, yes. I think he's cute."

"Aw!" she cried out, as she stopped fluffing the pillows.

I started to get embarrassed. "But that's it, Gram. There's no attraction between us," I stated, hoping that she believed me.

She started nodding. "Okay, if that's what you're making yourself believe."

"It's true. I am not attracted to Nathan Scott."

"It's a shame," she began. "You two would've made such an adorable couple."

"Grandma," I whined.

"You know, a lot of girls would kill to be in your position right now – waiting patiently for Nathan Scott to come pick you up," she smiled.

"He's just giving me a ride to the bonfire, Grams," I stated. "Nothing more," I added as I turned around to pick a bobby pin from the box and pinned my bangs away from my face.

She noticed that I didn't want to be teased anymore and walked behind me. She placed her little chin against my shoulder and looked at our reflection in the mirror.

"Well, I'll be downstairs. When Nathan arrives, I'll call you," she said. "I hope you have fun tonight, but don't have too much fun. I still want you in once piece please." I let out a small giggled and she softly squeezed my shoulders before she left the room.

For the next hour and a half, I laid across my bed observing every little cell on the ceiling. I felt like I was lying there for a whole decade. Who knew an hour and a half could feel this long? I glanced at the clock – nine thirty – then sat up on my bed, glancing at the door hoping I would hear a soft knock or door bell, but there was still no sound. All I heard were people speaking followed by a laughing audience. Olivia was obviously watching some sitcom on TV.

I let out a deep moan and started thinking of possibilities of why Nathan was thirty minutes late. Did he get in a wreck on the way here? Maybe he decided not to go and went to bed early? Or it could be the fact that he really didn't want to bring me and decided to go to the bonfire on his own. I pouted at myself in the mirror across from me and slammed back down against the bed. The minute I hit the mattress, the door bell rang. My eyes widened. I quickly jumped off my bed and slowly eased the door open. I heard my grandmother opening the front door and excitedly greeted who I assumed was Nathan.

"She's upstairs. I'll call her," I heard her say. "HALEY!" she cried out.

I sprinted across the room to grab my tiny purse and headed downstairs. "Coming!"

Once I approached the foyer area, I saw Nathan standing outside the door with Olivia smiling beside him. He was wearing a blue polo shirt with plaid shorts – just the kind I like.

"Hey," I greeted, walking out of the darkness of the hallway and into the light of the porch.

"Hey," he replied. I noticed his eyes looking me up and down. I immediately felt the blood rush in my face.

"You two have fun," Olivia stated. "You take care of her Nathan," she advised, pointing at him with a serious expression.

"Don't worry. She's my responsibility," he smirked.

We both said goodbye and headed towards his car. It was a 1973 Dodge Charger in the shade of red. It was so old fashioned. I really didn't expect that of him. I was thinking he was more of a mustang or corvette type of guy. I guess he was right about reading people better.

When I climbed into his car, it smelled like fresh lemons from the car freshener hanging from his rear view mirror. I looked at the back and noticed that it was cluttered with magazines, shoes, and a basketball. I also noticed two bottles of alcohol on the seat.

"Sorry for the mess," he said. "I didn't get to fix it before I picked you up."

"It's fine," I replied. He reached over to grab the pieces of paper around my foot area and tossed it to the back. "As long as I have leg room, I'll be fine."

He let out a chuckle and we started heading off on the main road. I noticed that he had a built in CD player and stereo in his car. It was set on a rap station so it started blaring hip hop music as soon he started the car. I listened to some hip hop, but some of the songs appalled me just like the one that was playing right now. It was talking about girls in their thongs, shaking their booties on the dance floor and drinking gold cups of Patron. So I reached over to change the station to something that was appealing to my ears and brain.

"Hey!" Nathan cried out. "I was listening to that!"

"Now you're not," I smiled. He quickly glanced at me with his piercing blue eyes and turned on a curve on the highway.

I turned the knob and tried to find a decent station. I wasn't familiar with the stations in town so I had to depend on what song was playing to determine if I found the right one.

"Did you find anything good yet?" Nathan asked.

"Nope," I replied. "Do you have a rock or alternative station?"

"Um,"he started slowing the car at the stop light and took charge of the station. "I think so." He began turning the knob to the left as bits and pieces of different radio stations were heard. After a few seconds of searching he finally landed on a Rogue Wave song.

"Is that good?" he asked, as the light turned green and started driving again.

The song that was playing was Endless Shovel and I nodded pleased. He didn't seem to know the song but I noticed him nodding his head to the beat of the instrumental part. I smiled at the sight and started tapping my hand against my lap.

We did that for at least a minute or so before the song began to fade. Then it was silent again and a new song came on. It was really soft and calming so there wasn't anything to jam to. As soon as we started driving along a straight road, he rolled down the windows and rested his elbow there. The wind was blowing really hard against my face so I rolled it back up. I looked to my side and studied him for a little bit. He was sitting back with one arm against the steering wheel – his muscles flexing - looking almost like James Dean. The small strands of his hair flowed back and forth as the wind blew against them. Then I looked away and observed his dashboard which was scattered with different CDs. I reached out to pick one and read the label – AC/DC. I smiled and lifted my eyebrow at the cover.

"You're a fan?" I asked, motioning the case towards him.

I glanced at it and nodded his head. "Kind of, my dad let me borrow it for a while. I just started listening to them."

"Just started?" I asked loudly, above the sound of the gushing wind and music that was still playing on the radio. "AC/DC are legends."

I heard him chuckle. "I know they are. I just never really got in to them," Nathan replied as he slowed down at another stop light. "I'm guessing that you're a big fan," he said turning to me.

"Not a big fan, but I am a fan," I answered as I opened the album case and inserted the CD into the stereo. "My parents would always play their old school music around the house when I was younger. So I pretty much grew up listening to musicians like The Beatles, Patsy Cline, AC/DC and Frank Sinatra."

The music began to play as the light turned green. For the next ten minutes we discussed our favorite musicians and albums. He told some of the names of artists that he was interested in. He named a couple famous stars now like Jay-Z and Diddy, but he also named various artists like Jack's Mannequin and Butch Walker. I was surprised to hear him talk about that kind of music, but then he mentioned Peyton introducing a couple of artists to him. So that made sense.

Soon enough, we finally made our way to the beach. The parking was so unorganized. There were cars trapped within other cars. Some were parked in odd angles. And others were almost buried in the sand. We both shook our heads at the sight and searched for a better parking space. I looked out my window and noticed the party near the shore. There were people in trunks, bikinis and beer in their hands. I could hear music blaring through the window as I stared. Then I noticed some guy pick a girl up and carried her over his shoulder.

"Damnit!" Nathan cursed. I turned away from the window and looked over at him. "Stupid bitch took my spot!" I looked in the front of us and noticed a black 1968 Comet easing onto the grass. Nathan didn't move one inch and stared longingly at the car. The back lights turned off and the doors opened, revealing the driver and its passengers.

Peyton Sawyer climbed out of the car in a leather jacket, white shirt and shorts. She glanced at us and lightly waved before she slammed her door. Climbing out of the other side was Lucas. He was wearing a gray tee with a cursive logo on it and blue shorts. Following him was none other than Brooke Davis. Lucas closed the door and noticed that we were staring from the car. He saw the look on Nathan's face and slapped his knee in amusement. Brooke turned to us, lifting her eyebrow and turned away.

Brooke linked arms with Lucas and mumbled something to him that caused him to turn away from us. They both started towards the bonfire as Peyton locked her car and approached us with her hands in her jacket. She leaned into Nathan's window and smiled.

"Sorry, Scott. I found it first," she said, scrunching her nose. Nathan made a face and glanced at me. "But there's a little bit of space left next to us. Just park there," she added, motioning towards the spot next to them.

Peyton looked past Nathan and found me sitting there quietly.

"Oh. Hey Haley. I didn't know you were coming," she stated.

"Yeah, me either," I replied.

"It's good that you came," she smiled then glanced at Nathan. "But why did you go with him?" she joked.

I shrugged lightly, looking over at Nathan who was starting to get annoyed. I heard a beep from behind us and we all looked back.

"I guess, I'll let you guys go," Peyton stated. "I'll meet you guys by the fire," she added before she stood up straight, stared at the car behind us and flicked them off before she walked away.

I giggled to myself as she disappeared into the crowd. Nathan slowly eased into the space next to her car and put it into park.

"How do you know Peyton?" I asked as he pulled his keys out of the ignition.

"We've been friends since middle school. She punched me in the face the second week of sixth grade," he confessed. He leaned towards the back seat and grabbed the two bottles he brought.

"No she didn't!"

"I swear she did. Ask her," he replied, tucking the bottles underneath his arm and climbed out of the car. I did the same.

"And how did that happen?" I asked as he locked the car and started walking off the grassy area and onto the sand. I followed.

"Well, I accidentally elbowed her in the hallway one day and then BAM – she hit me right across the face," he explained, reenacting the moment. I let out a small giggle and shook my ahead, amused.

"Did she apologize?" I asked as we started passing a few people.

"Yeah, the second after she punched me she apologized. She felt so bad that she offered to buy me lunch that day," he replied, thinking about that moment in his head. "After that we just became good friends. She still punches me now and then, but not in the face," he added.

"There you are!" someone called out as we both were now closer to the crowd. The glow of the bonfire reflected across Peyton's skin as she approached us with two beers in her hands. She handed me one and kept the other one when she noticed what Nathan was holding under his arm.

"For Lucas and Brooke?" she asked, nodding at his arm. He looked down, pulled them out of his arm and held both bottles of Patron and Crown in his hands.

"Yep, they specifically asked for them," he replied. "Do you know where they went?"

I glanced at him and curiously wondered how he was able to buy them. I twisted the cap off my bottle and took a quick swig. I was about to ask him about it, but I decided not to.

"The last that I saw of them was over by the shore," Peyton replied. "Who knows where those two went," she added, searching around the crowd. I looked around as well and noticed that a bunch of people were dancing and grinding against each other while the music played. Arms were hanging up in the air with beer bottles in their hands. Others were sitting around the bonfire, listening to a guy play his acoustic guitar and the rest were running around in their bathing suits and trunks laughing.

"I guess I'll go find them. I don't want to carry these around all night," Nathan stated. He looked over at me and told me he'd back and started walking past the crowd. I watched him as he left, nodding his head at a few people he knew, and then he disappeared.

"Did he offer you a ride?" Peyton asked, walking to the side of me and taking a swig of her drink.

I glanced at her for a second, noticing how defined her curly blonde hair was, and then turned away.

"Yeah," I answered. She quickly looked over at me, eyes wide. "Why?" I asked.

"Well, Nathan doesn't really offer rides to girls that often. He doesn't even offer me a ride," she replied as she took another sip from her bottle. "He only offers rides to girls he's interested in." She looked at me with a smile. "He's obviously interested in you."

"No, he's not," I replied.

"Haley, I've known the boy since sixth grade. I know when he has eyes for someone."

"Well I don't believe it. "

"And why is that?"

"I've only been here for a week. How could he already be interested?" I questioned.

She shrugged her shoulders and eyed the crowd. "Beats me, but you've obviously got something that he likes," she smiled.

I gazed at her for a second, confused a bit. I looked away, took another sip from my bottle and thought about what she said. I don't think it was possible and nor did I believe a word that came out of her mouth. Yeah, Nathan had been nice to me ever since I arrived, but I didn't think it was because he was interested. I stopped thinking about it for a moment and observed the crowd trying to erase it from my mind.

Nathan was gone for a while so Peyton and I talked about how her, Brooke, Lucas and Nathan. She told me that she and Brooke have been friends ever since they were born. Brooke was an only child, so her parents gave her everything that she wanted. She came from a wealthy family just like Peyton which made them two of the most popular girls in school. Brooke leaned more into the wild side of things whereas Peyton leaned more into the less dramatic and artistic side. Since Nathan and Peyton were friends in middle school, Brooke got acquainted with his brother Lucas. Soon enough, Lucas and Brooke started dating around their sophomore year in high school. Then eventually their popularity grew as Nathan and Lucas joined the school's basketball team. Everyone wanted to be friends with them, date them, or even be them. Peyton didn't think she was all that great, neither did Nathan and Lucas, but Brooke loved all the attention. She was just that type of girl.

I started to feel intimidated now. I was standing by one of the supposed socialites in town and I was the new girl who was probably just a nobody back at home. Something felt totally imbalanced here.

By the time Nathan finally showed up, I began to feel the buzz from the one beer that I had. I was a light weight. When he came over, he didn't arrive alone. Lucas and Brooke followed as he approached us, both holding the bottles Nathan bought.

"Where were ya'll?" Peyton asked.

Brooke took a quick glance at me and finally gave me a little smile for the first time all day.

"We were just by the shore talking to people," Brooke replied, glancing at Peyton.

"Haley, you made it," Lucas stated, coming towards me with arms wide open. I gave him a quick hug because obviously he was coming over for one. When we parted, I could smell the alcohol in his breath. He was obviously drinking the crown.

"Yeah because Nathan brought her," Peyton stated, wiggling her eyebrows.

Nathan just stood there, drinking the beer he had, oblivious to what Peyton was emphasizing. Brooke seemed to have gotten the memo as I watched her eyes widened.

"Oh, he did, did he?" she nodded. She turned to me and leaned in asking, "What did you have to do to get him to say yes? Did you have to strip for him? Or give him he –"

"Brooke!" Peyton cut in. Nathan spit out the liquid from his mouth. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand as I just stood there, speechless and offended.

"What?" she cried out, her eyebrows arching. "I was just asking the girl a question."

"Well it was rude," Peyton replied.

Peyton turned to me with an apologetic expression and said , "She's a little drunk. She doesn't know what she's saying."

I felt hurt and somehow humiliated. If she was trying to be funny, she did a really bad job at it. I just stared at Peyton, glanced at Brooke and the rest of the guys hoping that they didn't see that I was offended.

"Um, it's fine," I lied. "I'm just . . ." I looked around me and pointed to a random direction. ". . .going to go over there," I said holding in my emotions. I slowly turned on my heel and walked somewhere farther than where they were.

"Sheesh, she's sensitive," I heard Brooke state with my back towards them as I walked.

R&R