Somewhere in North Carolina, Saturday Afternoon and Night
Daytona was busily giving Lucas and Nathan instructions as she drove them around the track. Quickly. "OK, so, you wanna enter turn one, high," she said showing them what she was saying. "And then take this curve," she said, turning the wheel to direct the car in the path she was describing.
"So, uh, you got the new 50 Cent?" Garrett asked from the backseat.
Daytona sighed, "Garrett, they need to pay attention."
"Yeah, yeah, I got that. What's up with Tony Yayo; is he like in jail or out of jail, or what?" Nathan and Garrett laughed.
"Oh, Nathan, it's great that you wanna talk G-Unit hip-hop with my little brother, but, if you make a mistake at 160 miles an hour, a lot more than your heart is gonna be broken." Nathan looked away at Daytona's words.
"Whatever! No girl's gonna out-drive my, anyway," he said to mask his discomfort at the mention of his broken heart. Lucas had to think Haley'd more smashed it into the concrete than just broken it in half. Nathan's heart didn't seem reparable at the moment.
Daytona took a different tack, laughing off the insult, "Okay." She slammed her foot onto the accelerator and the car sped up.
She turned to look at Nathan in the backseat as she drove faster and faster around the track, "So, the one thing that drives me crazy about home schooling," Lucas slid lower in his seat, feeling uncomfortable with the speed and her attention directed away from the road. "Is just, you know, getting behind on all the fashions and also, every now and then, I like to, you know, catch up on the gossip." Lucas was nervous. Even Nathan was taking deep breaths as Daytona continued talking, turning almost completely around in her seat. "I don't know, is that wrong of me?"
Nervously, Lucas replied, "You might just...wanna...watch the track." He pointed to help her see what he meant.
In the backseat, Nathan nodded, "Yeah, okay, Daytona, we get the point, alright? You don't need to get all crazy."
"Oh, you think this is crazy? No! This is crazy!" She turned the wheel sharply, sending the car spinning off the track and onto the slip road. Dust billows up from under the tires.
After their lessons, Nathan and Lucas cleaned up before finding Daytona sitting outside next to a tent with a blazing bonfire, a guitar in her arms.
"Tell me you don't live in a tent all year round," Nathan asked.
Daytona laughed, "No, it's just nice to get out under the stars sometimes." She gestured for them to sit with her. "Plus, Garrett hates it, so, that's a plus."
"You gonna play something?" Lucas asked, indicating her instrument that she was barely strumming.
"What d'ya wanna hear?" she asked. "NWA? Maybe a little Tupac?"
"Surprise us," Nathan said, smiling, despite his obvious discomfort.
Daytona sighed, "Okay, um..." thinking a little before she began to play.
Dancin' where the stars go blue,
Dancin' where the evening fell,
Dancin' in your wooden shoes,
In a wedding gown.
As she sang, Lucas couldn't help but watch Nathan's reaction, aware that this is one of the songs Haley used to sing. Nathan looked hurt, lost and at the end of the verse, he stood to flee.
"What?" Daytona asked, confused. "It's Ryan Adams." Nathan walked away, leaving Lucas to explain.
"Did it suck that bad?" Daytona asked him, concerned.
"No, it's..it's not that," Lucas said quickly, skewering a marshmallow and sticking it in the fire. "It's a Haley thing." He laughed sadly, shaking his head.
"I just wish there was something I could do to help him," she replied, just as sadly.
"What was he like when you were kids?" Lucas asked. He really didn't know his own brother back then, which was weird, but he appreciated her perspective.
She looked down, smiling thoughtfully in the memory. "He was kind." Daytona looked up, nodding at Lucas. "Just a really sweet guy. And a good friend, pre-basketball."
"Yeah," he said, shaking his head. Lucas understood the pre-basketball thing. It was the equivalent of saying, ‘before Dan got his hooks in him and turned Nate into an asshole.'
"Nate said you go to boarding school?" Daytona asked, situating herself next to Lucas in front of the fire.
"Yup, Fandom High. It's not your typical boarding school, though." Lucas really wasn't up for trying to describe Fandom to anyone. "It's more like constant detention." Maybe if he made it out to be not fun he wouldn't get asked questions.
"Oh, yuck," she replied, happy to not talk about that and leaning a little closer. "By the way, your marshmallow's on fire..."
Lucas glanced down, exclaiming, "Oh!" before lifting the flaming marshmallow out only to find Daytona close enough to blow it out for him with a laugh.
[NFI, NFB. See Part 1 for more explanation and to help it make of the sense. This is way shorter than it should be cuz I suck!]