Lynetta stared out the window, over looking the garage. She saw all the boys down there... working on their machineary as usual.
" Hey girl, what you doin'?"
Lynetta turned quickly to see Letty standing in the doorway of her bedroom. " Oh, just.. y'know. Takin' some R&R time."
Letty wasn't convinced. She stared at Lynetta, who turned to stare back out the window. Her attention was focused on a certain individual. Her boyfriend, Jesse. For as long as anyone could remember, her and Jesse had been best childhood friends. Jesse first noticed her because of her vast interest and knowledge when it came to cars. It wasn't long after that when Jesse started to notice her because she was a girl.
Letty walked over to where Lynetta was standing. She looked out the window with her.
" What's goin' on, Lyn? I mean, if both Mia and Dom are noticing somethings up, and I'm noticing something wrong, somethings gotta be wrong."
Lyn sighed, and turned back to Letty. She sat on the edge of the bed she shared with Jesse, and a single tear filled one of her eyes. "I'm not sure what's wrong. Something's going down, but I dunno what.... Is it just me? Or has Jesse been acting kinda... different lately?"
Letty groaned, and cracked her knuckles. " Yeah.. he's a little.. different."
" A little different? Okay girl, what the hell's going on? Clearly you all seem to know what's up. And once again, I'm the last to find out." Lyn got up and stormed to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. She left the door open so she could hear Letty, but concentraited on her reflection in the mirror.
As Lyn looked herself over, she could hear Letty talking, but Lyn was in her own little world right now. The most she heard was murmmers from Letty, and the roar of testing engines outside the window. Lyn stared at the bright blue eyes staring back at her in the mirror. She stroked her blonde hair, and sighed.
" Should I change my look?" Lyn suddenly asked.
" What?!" Letty responded, a look of pure confusion on her face. Then she sighed. " You go through this every couple months, girl. How many times do we all have to tell you, you don't have to change to keep that boy's interest. Trust me already."
Lyn knew she was referring to Jesse. "What makes you think it's because of him?"
" Who else would it be?"
Lyn sighed, and faced Letty. " Shut up, already."
Letty laughed, and turned to stare out the window while Lyn changed in the bathroom. Lyn wore her skinny black jeans, with a pink mesh top. Underneath she had on a thik black tube top that barely covered her cleavage. She threw a black bandana in her hair, and put on her hoop earring while zipping up her above-the-knee leather boots. The races were gonna start in a couple hours, and according to Dom it was mandatory that all girls had three different outfits throughout the night: one for the pre-party including only the crew, a second to show off at the races, and a third for the after party. Lyn figured with this outfit she could at least make two out of the three.
Lyn walked over and Letty saw that she was dressed.
" So.. Are you going to talk to him? Or just make it seem like everything's alright again?" Letty questioned.
Lyn was about to open her mouth and give a response when there was a huge bang from outside. Both girls flung themselves out the window for a better look. Lyn saw that somehow Leon had managed to torch the front of his car, which was still burning.
"Shit!" Lyn cried, as she and Letty took off downstairs.
"Shit, shit, SHIT!"
Dom, Leon, Jesse, Brian, Mia and Vince all turned to see Lyn running out of the house, closely followed by Letty. Lyn ran up, and stomped out what she could on the ground, then turned and saw Letty putting out the flame on the car. When the fire was finally dealt with, Lyn lost it on Leon.
" Jesus fucking Christ!" she hollared." You dumbass! First of all, don't you fucking know what you're doing? Haven't you been around cars long enough to know then smoking around the damn NOS tank is not a bright idea? And second, don't any of you know how to put out a goddamn fire? Next time, instead of standing there like a fucking idiot, Leon, actually do something unless you wanna permently lose your car!"
Lyn, turned on her heel, and walked into the garage to check out her own car. What she saw when she got there pissed her off more than the burning car of Leon. Lyn drove a Nissan Skyline RX4, with brand new parts from Japan and a twin turbo NOS boost. It was originally painted bright gold, but as soon as she got her little hands on it the paint job turned to lime green and royal purple; needless to say when she when she saw the thick red stripe down the left side of her car, she was furious. Lyn ran back outside. As soon as she did, all heads turned to her. She saw Jesse and Dom huddled in close with Letty, indicated that she's been tellig them what they recently talked about upstairs. Although Lyn was pissed about that, her car was her main priority right now. All three of them stared at her, as she realized that Brian, Vince, Mia and Leon had taken off.
" What happened to my car?" Lyn asked, as calmly as she could.
" Hu?" Dom asked, all of them looking confused and scared.
" My CAR!" She screamed. " Who the fuck decided to do the paint job?!"
The three followed her into the garage. They gathered on the left side and looked to where she was pointing. There was the large, thick red line down the whole side of her car.
" What the fuck is that?" She questioned as she pointed to it, her eyes shooting daggers at the three of them, waiting for an answer.
Letty gulped, and said nothing. Jesse walked over, and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, while burying his face into the crevase between her shoulder blade and neck.
" Honestly, Lyn. That wasn't there last night. I'll talk to the boys and see if it was an accident. I'll help paint it over," Dom told her.
" Damn right you will." With that, Lyn moved out of Jesse's arms and stormed back inside.
They watched her leave in silence. Letty sighed. " You need to talk to her, boy." She motioned to Jesse.
Dom nodded in agreement.
" I know. I'm on it." Jesse took off in the house and up to the bedrom to find Lyn.
Lyn was laying on the bed, her ipod on. The music blasted from the sides of her head, making her completely unaware of anyone or anything around her. Her eyes were closed, and she was lip syncing along to the song. Jesse inched around to the other side of the bed, and gently crawled on. He manuvered himself so he was half on top of her. Calmly, Lyn opened one eye to see Jesse staring back at her. Lyn simply closed her eyes again and turned the music up louder.
Jesse sighed and rolled his eyes. He grabbed for one of her earphones, and pulled it out of her ear so she could hear him. " C'mon, babe. What's going on with you?"
Lyn opened her eyes briefly to give him a glare for removing her headphone, looked down, picked it back up and stuck it back in her ear.
Great, Jesse thought. The silent treatment. She's pissed.
Although Lyn was acting as though she couldn't hear him, Jesse knew better. The music was low enough that she could hear.
" Fine, " Jesse sighed. " You leave me no choice."
Jesse grabbed the ipod and put it on the table next to the bed, then climbed fully on top of her.
" Hey-!" Lyn started, but was quickly silenced when Jesse's lips crashed down on hers.
Giving no fight, Lyn kissed him back. After a quick heated make out session, Jesse pulled back and stared at Lyn, stroking her hair. " What's wrong?"
Lyn sighed, and played her fingers down his arm. " It's.. nothing. Really. I'm probably just PMSing."
Jesse laughed. " Nu uh. I know when you're PMSing. This is not a PMS issue."
Lyn smiled for the first time that day. She looked up at him, and rolled her eyes. " You make it sound like I'm such a bitch."
" You are." Jesse replied, simply.
Lyn stared at him, mouth open in pure shock. " Careful," Jesse warned. " Keep your mouth open like that, looks like you're waitin' for something."
He stuck his tongue out at her while she palyfully smacked him. " But no. You are a bitch. But I wouldn't want you any other way.." Jesse began trailing kisses down her neckline.
" Because.. you are the hottest.. meanest.. fastest bitch.. I've ever met."
Lyn smiled as Jesse continued his trail of kisses. One thing lead to another, but before Jesse was able to get where he wanted to go, Dom hollared at them.
" Guys! Time to go!"
Jesse groaned in frustration, and got up. " Yeah, yeah. We're coming!" he yelled back. " Or at least, we would have been.." he finished, murmmering.
Lyn laughed, and got up. She followed Jesse downstairs. " Is it cool if I ride with you tonight?"
Dom and Letty were waiting in the front hall, staring at the younger couple.
" Of course, " Jesse said instantly. " But why?"
" Because my car looks like shit right now. I'm not driving that out of the garage 'til that gay stripe's gone."
Jesse laughed, and put his arm around her shoulders. " Let's go, babe."
With that, they all got into their cars and took off to the races.
***
Lynetta sat in the passenger seat of Jesse's Volkswagen GT1. The radio was on, so they weren't talking. The music playing was a mix of rock and rap, and was actually pretty chillen. Lyn stared out the window as Jesse tore off down the streets of L.A. She was drifting off into her own little world again, when Jesse cleared his throat. She came back to reality rather quickly, making her jolt a little. She looked over at Jesse, who was looking back at her with a reassuring smile. She returned the smile warmly, and stared out the windshield window.
" So.. are you planning on racing tonight?" she casually asked Jesse.
They had just pulled into the parking lot where the rest of the racers had already gathered. Jesse pulled up near where the rest of the gangs cars were already parked. Dom and Letty pulled up behind them.
" I was thinking about it, " Jesse replied, turning to car off and looking at her.
Lyn smiled and reached over to kiss him. She kissed him quickly, and said, " Then kick ass, babe."
Lyn met up with Mia and Letty who were sitting on the side lines. Leon was in his car, a little ways away, on his radio checking for cops. Dom and Jesse were with Brian, going over a few things about their cars before the race started. They were all going to race, with Hector and Edwin. Mia was in chage of holding the money tonight.
" Dom's gonna take it, as usual?" Lyn asked, in general.
" More than likely." Letty was staring at her nails, growing more and more impatient.
" Who knows?" Vince came up behind them with beers for everyone. " Jesse's been working hard."
" And?" Mia and Lyn asked.
" And," Vince continued." He just might take Dom tonight."
The girls all shared a look, not totally convinced. Yet Mia had that look; that look that showed she knew something, and you didn't. Yet.
Letty caught this too, and turned to Lyn. She shrugged her shoulders, and brought her finger up to the side of her head while swirling it, making the signature "crazy" motion.
Lyn laughed, and turned back to see Dom, Jesse and Brian walking towards them.
" Kiss for good luck?" Brian asked Mia.
Lyn rolled her eyes at them, and Letty started laughing. Until Dom picked her up and said, " No matter what, you're my trophy."
Lyn was almost disgusted with all this lovey dovey shit. She turned to Jesse. He saw that look and smiled. He shook his head, and kissed her. Lyn gave him a quick hug.
" Good luck, babe."
The boys went back to their cars and prepared themselves to race.
It had been a really close call. No one could deny that. Although Jesse should have been happy, because he almost did beat Dom, there was one rain cloud that just kept hanging over all of them. Brian was stupid and used to much NOS. If he hadn't had stopped his car when he did, he probably would have blown the place up.
It was a roar of mass emotions after the race. Dom had taken it, as usual. After everyone pulled back into the safe lane, it was crazy. Letty was so pissed at Brian, most people thought she was going to kill him. Mia didn't know whether to yell at him or cry, so she did both. Dom just sat and shook his head after he'd made sure Brian hadn't killed himself. Vince and Leon were in shock and couldn't say a word. It was Jesse and Lyn who were just standing there, unsure what to do or say. So there they sat, both of them in total silence, not being able the rip their eyes away from Brian, but not wanting to look at him and be reminded either.
Jesse felt a head on his shoulder. Finally being able to tear his eyes away from his almost damaged friend, he saw Lyn had rested her head on him. She was shaking a little, but he wasn't sure if that was anger or sadness or shock. He put his arm around her to comfort her, and she snuggled in closer to him.
" What an idiot.." he heard her mumble.
Jesse let out a soft chuckle. " Yeah.."
Later that night, when everything had calmed down, everyone was back at Dom's for an after party celebration. The whole crew was off doing their own thing, and the only ones Lyn could see was Brian and Mia in the kitchen, talking about something. The room was packed with people she didn't know, and most of them she didn't want to know. As she had suspected earlier, her plan with her outfit had worked perfectly. And Dom didn't even notice.
Lyn smiled triumphently to herself, as Jesse walked up with two beers.
" What are you smiling about, princess?" he asked casually.
Lyn stuck her tongue out at him, and took the beer before smiling. " Oh, I pulled a fast one on Dom. Victory is mine." She opened her beer, and took a celebratory swig.
Jesse laughed, and shook his head. " Remind me what it is I see in you? You're such a nerd sometimes."
" Oh, I'm the nerd?" Lyn asked, laughing. " Who's the mad scientist in these operations, may I remind you?"
" Yeah, yeah.." Jesse looked at her. " Y'know.. I've been thinking. Maybe me dropping out of school wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had."
Lyn sighed, and shrugged." Gotta do what you want, dear."
Jesse smiled. " Well, yeah. But.. I don't know. I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff lately."
" I've noticed," Lyn remarked and stared at some guys who were about to brawl in the middle of the living room.
She sighed, and put her beer down as she got up and made her way across the room and stop the fist fight that was about to occur.
" Ooookay boys!" she stood between them, after taking their beers and passing them to Mia. " Time to pack it up, I think. You boys have had enough."
Both guys looked at her, one of them looking like they were ready to pounce. Then Jesse walked in and put his arms around Lyn's waist. Brian put his hand on one of the guys shoulders.
" Okay. It's cool." The one guy picked up his stuff, and walked out.
The other guy stared at Jesse and Lyn for a second. Then he put his hands up in a surrendering fashion and walked out.
This girl, wearing barely nothing, came running up to Jesse and kissed him smack on the lips in front of Lyn. Lyn stood there, shocked, and Jesse quickly pulled away and looked to Lyn. Mia and Brian didn't know what to do, so they just stared.
The girl looked at Lyn with a smirk on her face. " What you think about that?"
Lyn smirked, and got in the girls face. " I think you should pack it up and leave with your buddy's before I leave tread marks on your face, bitch. You touch him again, that pretty little face ain't gonna be so pretty."
The girl was obviously scared, and took off outta there.
When things were back to normal again, Mia and Brian returned to the kitchen, and Dom and Letty finally came back downstairs. Leon and Vince walked in, and took a seat in the corner of the room with some girls they'd picked up. Dom and Letty made their way over to Jesse and Lyn.
" Where's Mia?" Letty asked.
" Kitchen, " Jesse answered and took a siwg of beer.
Letty went to the kitchen to see Mia, and Dom stayed behind to talk with Jesse and Lyn.
" So.." Dom started. He looked kind of nervous. Or was that.. anxiousness? Fear?
" So... what?" Lyn asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion. She was currently sitting on Jesse's lap.
" So.. how's it going?" Dom asked, looking at them both.
Lyn and Jesse shared a look, and then turned back to Dom.
" Good.." Jesse replied, unsure of what to say.
" Fine.." Lyn responded.
" Cool, cool." Dom seemed to be really focused on his beer lid.
" Uh.. Dom?" Lyn asked.
Dom looked at her to indicate he was listening.
" Are you going to drink that? Or just stare at it for 15 minutes?"
Dom gave a half smile, and opened the bottle. " Drink it."
" Alright." Lyn stared at Dom, a determined look on her face. " What's going on? Everyone's been acting really weird lately, and now you too. What's up?"
Dom smiled, and shook it off. " It's nothing. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, okay?" He patted the top of her head, and walked into the kitchen after Letty.
Lyn, taken aback, shook her head, and looked at Jesse, confused. " What the hell was that about?"
Jesse shrugged. " Damned if I know. But they are all acting pretty messed up lately."
She got up to go to the kitchen to grab another beer. Jesse followed.
In the kitchen, the crew had gathered. Leon turned and saw Lyn and Jesse walk in. " Hey guys."
The rest of the group, consisting of Mia, Brian, Dom, Letty, Vince and Leon himself, all turned to look at them. Lyn was feeling pretty weirded out. They were all just staring.. like they were waiting for something?
" Um.. " Lyn turned to Jesse, adverting eye contanct with the rest of the crew. " I'm kinda tired. Bed?"
" Well-" Jesse started, but Lyn cut him off.
" Jesse, I'm going to bed. I think you should come with me? We can finish off what we started earlier."
Jesse got the hint, gave a wink to the group, and said, " You got it."
They left the kitchen and headed upstairs to bed.
Lyn laid on the bed, half asleep, half awake. She stared at the wall next to her side of the bed. Jesse came into the room, and looked at her. She kept staring that the opposite wall.
" Not exactly the welcome I was expecting." Jesse laughed, and laid next to her on the bed.
Lyn rolled over to face him and buried herself against his chest. She sighed.
" You ok?" He asked.
She looked up at him. " I am now."
She laid her head back down, and closed her eyes.
***
Lyn woke up to the sun shining brightly. She looked over her shoulder to see Jesse was already up and gone. Then she heard a loud crash from the garage.
" How come most of my morning start like this?" Lyn asked herself, frustrated.
She quickly got dressed; a pair of ripped jeans, and a pink t-shirt that came just above her belly button. She threw her hair into a messy ponytail, and put her runners on. She headed out to the garage.
" Okay.. what they hell?" she asked, almost sounding like she was admitting defeat.
Jesse smiled up at her from under his car, while Leon and Vince sat in the front seats.
" This thing just won't work!" Vince slammed down on the steering wheel.
" Sure, break that now, why don't ya.." Jesse murmered to himself.
Lyn walked over, shaking her head. " Where's Dom?"
All three boys shrugged.
" No idea," Leon said.
Lyn shrugged, and crawled under the car with Jesse. " What are we looking at?"
" For some reason Vince can't get it to start. I've already checked under the hood and hooked it up to the computer. Everything seems to be working perfectly. So.. I'm checking down here now." Jesse passed her the flashlight, and she held it while he stuck the wrench up under the car.
He tinkered with it for a moment or two, and sighed. " I dunno, V. Something's messed up, and even I can't figure it out."
Jesse slid out, followed by Lyn. She was already covered in dirt and grease. She went to make her way back to the house.
" And where do you think you're going?"
Next thing she knew, she had been picked up and placed on the hood of the car, Jesse over top of her. Vince and Leon seemed to have disappered. Lyn looked up at Jesse. " Yes?"
Jesse chuckled and started to once again leave trails of kisses down her neck. Lyn felt herself ready to give in.
" It's been.. what, almost two days? And we still haven't finished what we started. What can I say? I'm an impatient boy.."
Lyn smiled, and kissed him passionatly. " Then I think we should go upstairs."
With that, Lyn got off the hood, grabbed Jesse's hand while looking at him longingly, and dragged him upstairs to make up for lost time.