CHAPTER FOUR.
in the end, there's only darkness

        TWO FULL DAYS HAD PASSED SINCE JULES HAD DECIDED TO RUN OUT ON KEITH AT THE WEDDING CHAPAL. And also, two days since Lola has seen her friends. After the terrible events that unfolded at the church, Andre had gotten a random call about some stuff their father left behind in a storage unit, the person claiming the siblings only had a few days before they threw it all away to make more space for other people bringing their belongings in. So, she and her brother had spent that time in California, gathering everything that was important and throwing the junk away.

She kept up with her friends over text. The Scott brothers more than anyone else since they'd been going through a lot more. Lucas had spent his first day with his mother, the two trying to hunt down Keith and by the second day, they had found him. Nathan went to Georgia to talk things through with Haley after his mother convinced him. He had left with his head held high on his shoulders, convinced everything would be better and he came back to town heartbroken.

Pulling out her phone, she clicks Nathan's contact and puts it up to her ear. It rings for a few moments before he picks up. "Hey! I just got back and wanted to see if you'd be down to do something with me and Luke?"

"Uh, about that, I was actually just about to invite Luke to go race car driving with me and my uncle." Nathan awkwardly mumbled out, feeling bad that he'd have to let her down.

"Oh! That's totally fine. We can just hang out when you get back, yeah?"

Shuffling was heard on his side and a few seconds later, he's speaking again. "You could come with us if you want? My uncle is cool with it."

"Really? I'd actually love that." Lola smiled. Her father had taught her about cars back when she was younger, so seeing a car race would be a dream come true. "Thank you."

"No problem, Lola. We'll pick you up in an hour." With that, he hung up.

Lola silently cheered, knowing she'd get to do the one thing her father didn't get to do before his passing. But, her excitement is short lived once she realizes that she only had an hour to get a shower and get ready. Shit.

"What's up with you?" Andre asks, walking into the kitchen where she stood as he opens up the fridge to dig around.

"Nathan invited me to watch race cars with him and his uncle. Lucas will also be there, too. So, don't wait up."

He grabbed the milk and sat it on the table before reaching for the cereal box, "Alright. Just call me if anything happens. And please, be careful. You never know what'll happen."

"I will. I'm gonna get ready before they come."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.

One word to describe Cooper Lee would be: hilarious. The older man wouldn't stop cracking jokes left and right as they drove down the road. His large ego grew even more whenever Lola would giggle like a little girl with a school crush. Nathan and Lucas had found themselves in relief once the man pulled up to the track, glad to get out of the suffocating truck.

Entering the building, Lola was squeezed between Nathan as they walked through the tiny space that lead to the inside of the arena. Lucas and Cooper took the lead, having a conversation that the two in the back just listened in to.

"Coop, how great is it that you get to race cars for a living?" Lucas asked, already knowing what his answer would be.

"Oh, you know, fame, money, extremely hot wives." He grinned.

Nathan puts his input in at this moment, "Ex wives."

Lola hit his arm, giving him a warning look. On the way up here, she made him promise he wouldn't talk about Haley and just live life.

"Check it out." Cooper gestures towards the amazing view of the track. The other three were in awe at how much better it was in person. "I'll tell you what, there's only one view better than this one. That one." He pointed just as a car zooms by, the engine roaring.

He leads them inside the garage where the cars were getting ready, tires being fixed upon. He grabs ahold of something before leading them back out to the main course, someone pulling up beside them in a car.

Some random man walks up to them, his huge earphones on his neck, taking Cooper by surprise. "Ray, let me ask you something. I mean, I'm not a real smart guy, but if you're not in my car and I'm not in my car, who is?"

"Hey, Tony." Ray called out towards the person.

They pull their helmet off to reveal a girl with red hair that matched her bright red suit. "Still not right, dad." She walks over towards them to stand by her father. "Tight in, loose off."

Lola smiled at her, enjoying seeing a girl in a racing suit. The girl smiled back at her before embracing Nathan into a hug, Lola trying to keep her jealousy at bay as she looks away from the scene. "It's so good to see you." Daytona said.

Nathan grinned, "It's good to see you too."

Daytona leads the group back into the garage where she introduces them to her brother.

Lucas glanced down at the girl beside him to see her staring off into space, a weird look stretched across her pretty face. He wraps his arm around the top of her shoulders and she looks up at him to offer a smile, which he returns.

"So, like, your mom's Cooper's sister?" Jarret, Daytona's brother asked, a mouth full of his grilled cheese.

Lucas shook his head, "Oh, my mom slept with Cooper's sister's husband." He laughed at the boy's confusion, watching the boy grumble something before walking away.

"So, you two want to hop in a car?" Rey asked the two friends that shared an initial.

Lola's eyes widen as she pulled away from the boy, "Hell yeah." She jumped into the red one's passenger seat, Lucas getting into the driver side.

The girl looked around in complete love, never having witnessed something this amazing in a very long time. It was beautiful, just like the ones at Chuck E. Cheese, but so much better and real.

"This is awesome." Lucas smiled.

Cooper liked their enthusiasm, "You guys want to drive them? You can take a crash course today. Learn about the cars and the track. You can spend the night and race tomorrow. How about it?"

Lola and Lucas shared a look, "We're so down."

"Me too." Nathan grinned, sharing looks with his friends.

"Let's go do the car test, so I can teach you what to do." Daytona grinned, walking off as they followed her.

Lola groaned once they made it over towards the car when she realized she'd be stuck sitting in the middle at the backseats. Rolling her eyes, she takes the seat between Nathan and the boy she just met and made sure to lean into Nathan, her ass practically on top of his legs. She didn't want to be too close to Jarrett since the girl knew nothing about him.

Daytona didn't waste anytime in revving the engine and taking off, the others almost gasping in surprise at how quick the car was traveling. "Okay, so, you want to enter turn one high. And then take this groove."

Lola watched ahead, ignoring everyone in the car as she watched the redhead turn the corner. Her heart was beating fast, suddenly regretting coming.

"So, the one thing that drives me crazy about homeschooling is just, you know, getting behind in all the fashions. And also, I like to catch up on the gossip, every now and then."

"We can tell." Lola mumbled, clutching at her upper arms.

Lucas' eyes widen as he realized something, "Just keep your eyes on the road, please."

"Yeah, you don't need to go all crazy on us, Daytona." Nathan spoke up from the backseat.

Daytona raised an eyebrow, taking his words as a challenge. "Oh, you think that was crazy?" She suddenly speeds up, a smirk on her face. "Watch this!"

The car gets sent into a large donut, spinning in a circle, dust pouring from the tires. Lola had accidentally fallen on top of Nathan and she grabbed ahold of his legs so she wouldn't fall off as his hands grilled her thighs. Although the black haired girl was scared at first, something about this made her feel so much more alive. It was a good rush.

She laughed as the others yelled out their joy, clearly enjoying the amazement that came with doing something like this. Her heartbeat could be heard through her ears, but she ignored it, as she leaned back on Nathan's chest so she wouldn't pump into the glass window.

Nathan glanced down at the girl with a smile on his face, actually having a good day. Ever since Lola had stumbled into his life, his days had been filled with some kind of joy, even if he still sulked around, she made them bearable.

She was slowly becoming his best friend and he absolutely loved that.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.

Night time had approached quickly, the moon staring down at them as they sat around Daytona's fire she had built. Lola had texted her brother to make sure it was alright if she stayed the night and thankfully, he agreed. She then decided to cuddle up with Lucas due to her only wearing a long sleeve, not having a jacket. He had let her sit beside him and once he saw her freezing, she pulled her into his embrace, something she was grateful for.

Daytona strummed her guitar, humming something as Nathan took a seat not too far from Lola. "Don't tell me you sleep here all year round?"

"No. It's just nice to get out under the stars sometimes. Plus, my brother hates it, so, that's a plus." She grinned. "You guys have any song suggestions? NWA? Maybe a little Tupac?"

Lola's ears perked up at that, "Wait, you know how to play a Tupac song on the guitar?"

"Of course! I love him, definitely top five on my list." Daytona grinned, strumming the beginning of I Ain't Mad At Cha.

"Surprise us." Nathan spoke up, fog falling after his words.

The redhead nodded, "Okay, uhm." She then starts to sing whatever song had popped up into her head at the time. "Dancing when the stars go blue. Dancing when the evening fell. Dancing in your wooden shoes, in a wedding gown."

Nathan suddenly gets up, rushing away from the three, hands shoved into his hoodie's pocket. Lola watched him leave, filling bad once she realized it was the duet song she and Chris Keller had sang together.

"Did it suck that bad?" Daytona laughed it off, but she did look a little offended.

"No. It's-it's not that. It's... a Haley thing." Lucas scoffed, shaking his head as the fire crackled in the background.

Daytona stared where her childhood friend had taken off, "I just wish there was something I could do to help him."

No one said anything after that, "I figured you would've chased after him." Lucas whispered into her ear, roasting his marshmallow.

"No, he should walk it off. Plus, he'd probably snap at me if I tried to get a word in." Lola stared into the fire, watching the orange and yellow fight it out, the colors blending together.

He just hummed, pulling the stick out of the hot substance and blowing the smoke from his white, sticky food.

"I can play some more Tupac if you'd like?" Daytona suggested.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.

Everyone had been woken up at seven am and Lola normally would've thrown a fit at waking this early on a weekend, but she let it pass, knowing it was finally the day they'd be racing. The black haired girl decided to sit this one out, afraid her anxiety would peak out of now where and cause her to wreck.

"Alright. Four cars. Three laps. You can all talk on an open frequency in your helmets. NowX if you get a little squirrelly out there, just take your foot off the gas, downshift, and come into the pits or pull the car on the inside apron." Rey was informing the boys on what to do. "There is a tach in your car, tells you the BPM. When it hits six, you're up around one hundred and fourth miles an hour. Nobody goes to seven. Got it?"

Lola stood beside the older man, the other four standing in front of them with their suits on. She gives the two Scott brothers a smile before following Rey up to the top where the main people go. He hands her a set of earphones and she puts them over her head, trying not to mess up her hair.

"Alright. Start your engines." They all do as he says, following the younger boy as he leads them in the black car and down the track.

Rey presses the button once they're in position and they start, Cooper and Daytona in the lead. Lucas and Nathan fought for third place, their cars going back and forth on which one would take the spot. Soon, they reach Daytona's red vehicle and stay in line with her.

Lola couldn't believe how great it was to watch her new friends race it out with each other. She was glad to witness Nathan having the fun he deserved.

Just as Nathan is about to pass Cooper for first place, the older man starts playing games with him, trying to keep him from passing. In a moment of weakness, Nathan does get the upper hand. That lasts about one minute before Cooper bumps into the younger Scott boy, Nathan falling behind as the others pass, leaving him in last place.

"Okay, bring it into the pits." Rey speaks into the over-com once they've finished.

They all fall in line and slow down, but the only one who doesn't listen is the one and only, Nathan Scott as he speeds up his car, passing Lola, the girl watching him as he does.

"Nathan, you not only missed your pit stall, you just broke a half dozen pit road rules." Rey spoke into the com, watching him continue on.

Once Lola hears nothing from the Scott boy, he'd heart starts pounding. Throwing the earphones off, she looks over at the car as it continues to zoom down the long road. Her ears pick up on the shouts of Cooper telling him he's going too fast, but she couldn't take her eyes off that ugly ass yellow car.

And the next thing she remembers is her heart breaking, as everything goes in slow motion. His car hit the side of the wall, it scraping against the car, sparks flying with it. Somewhere along the way she screamed, Nathan's name falling from her lips in desperation, knowing there was nothing she could possibly do watching the whole car smash, spinning out of control until it finally stopped.

She was the first to rush over towards him, Lucas following suit, but due to his long legs, he out ran her, dodging the flames that threatened to touch him if he got too close.

Cooper grabs Nathan from the car in a hurry, setting him on the ground and Lola bend down on her knees, ripping his helmet from his face as she stared at his closed, unblinking eyes. Blood was falling from his nose and Lola started crying watching as Lucas rocked his brother back and forth, telling him to hold on.

Apparently the ambulance had came to take Nathan, but Lola had been too numb to notice. Lucas pulled her from the ground and carried her to Cooper's truck, putting her with him as they speed down the highway right behind the flashing red lights.

It didn't take long to find a nearby hospital and at that point, Lola had finally came out of the state she was in as she rushed behind Nathan in the stretcher. The boy was actually awake, eyes barely open as he took in the bright lights above him.

"Hey, me and Luke are right here, okay? We're not going anywhere." She clutched his hand as the many doctors rushed him away, the boy pleading with Lucas not to call his wife.

Lola started crying again which caused Lucas to look down at her. He pulled her into a hug, his hand going on top of her head.

"I can't lose another person, Luke. I don't think I'd be able to handle it." She cried, clutching at his shirt, not caring if her makeup was running all down his white shirt.

"And you won't. I promise you."

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did i skip two episodes because they were boring and all about peyton/jake/anna? why, yes, yes i did. is this chapter shitty, why, yes, yes it is. but, hope you enjoyed anyways lmao.