Hi! This is my first fanfiction piece. Please leave reviews so I improve later on. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it!
"Tuna on white, no crust, right?" Mia asks, pretending to focus on her notebook.
"I don't know. How is it?" Brian returns as he flips open a magazene.
"Every day for the last three weeks you've been coming in here and asking me how the tuna is. Now, it was crappy yesterday, it was crappy the day before, and guess what?" She sends him a dry look, "Hasn't changed."
"I'll have the tuna," Brian smirks, turning another page.
"No crust?"
"No crust." Mia sets about making his sandwich. Behind her, Dom rises and grabs a drink, staring Brian down. Still, he returns to his work as Mia passes Brian his tuna sandwich.
"Thank you," he mutters, digging in as she gives him a doubtful look. She snags his magazene and flips a few pages, glancing at the car parts held within its pages. Then, a sound catches their attention. A girl, maybe seventeen years of age, drops from the roof onto the pavement in front of the entrance.
"You have tuna?" She asks, her voice barely audible. Her matte black clothes and matching waist-length hair make her practically disappear as she steps through into the dim lighting of Toretto's Café. Though it is darker, she neglects to remove the solid black sunglasses covering her eyes.
"I do. Do you want a sandwich?" Mia moves as if to make another. The girl's hesitant voice stops her.
"I dont have much money. How much would a can of tuna be? Not a sandwich," her head hangs low, avoiding their gaze.
"It's a dollar, with tax," Mia leans over the counter, watching the short, skinny wisp of a girl. She looks as if she hasn't eaten in weeks and her clothing appears worn and old upon closer inspection. Her hand reaches into the pocket of her leather jacket, drawing out a dollar bill and a quarter.
"This is enough?" She holds it out hesitantly, as if she doesn't want to give it up.
"Yes, it is." Mia gently takes the money and hands back her change before grabbing a can of the crappy tuna and a fork. Both Brian and Dom watch her warily, Brian with the critical, assessing gaze of a cop and Dom with the wary, knowing look of a criminal. Still, all three have come to the same conclusion: the girl is a run-away. She devours the terrible food, packing it all away within mere moments.
"What's your name, sweetheart?" Mia presses when the girl turns as if to leave. She tenses and flinches away, further into the shadows lining the wall. As she does, cars zoom into the parking spots outside, unloading Letty, Vince, Leon, and Jesse. The girl takes their momentary distraction to start to run off, but Vince grabs her arm, assuming she's a thief. He expects her to fight, and she does, but not in the way he believes she will. Instead of swinging wildly and attempting to rip her arm from his grip, she leans back and flashes her teeth, which aren't normal. Then, in a move only seen in movies, she spins into him, leaning against his chest, and does a backwards sumersault up and over his shoulder. This efectively removes her from his grip, but by this point, Dom has come around the counter and is ready to help. He grabs one arm and Vince takes the other. Gently, they pull her back into the café before she can object. The whole group blocks the only exit.
"Answer the question," Dom orders. "We won't hurt you. And while you're at it, take the glasses off."
"No," she hisses, adjusting her stance into a defensive pose.
"We only want to know your name, that's all. There's no need to fight," Mia cuts in, knowing if she lets Dom control this interrogation, they'll never get her name out of her.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"Only if you're honest," Brian jumps in, "and we'll know if you aren't."
"In that case, I'll just go."
"I saw your teeth, girl. Those weren't human. What are you?" Vince makes his own contribution to the conversation, drawing confused looks from his companions, who turn back to watch the girl's reaction. She hisses, her lips pulling back to reveal sharp, pointed teeth and elongated canines, like fangs.
"You want to know?" She snarls with a low growl. One hand snakew up to remove her glasses, revealing icy-blue eyes. But they, too, aren't human; they have long pupils, like a cat's or snake's. "Fine. I was designed in a lab. I don't have a name because they never expected me to survive. I was scheduled to be killed a few weeks back so i busted out, finally realizing what i was to them. And now I'm here, which means they're not far behind. You'll all die if they find you anywhere near me. Will you let me leave now?" Her arms cross across her chest and she tilts her head at them. Mia and Letty look to Dom pleadingly, their faces saying that they don't want to let her leave.
"No, you aren't leaving. We're going to give you a name and a place to stay. We aren't scared of whoever is chasing you," Dom declares. "Mia, why don't you take her to get some new clothes and such. While you're doing that, help her come up with a lost of names she likes."
"Okay, Dom." Mia grabs a set of car keys and her purse but freezes when Brian says, "Thanks for the sandwich, Mia. See you tomorrow." Vince storms out of the café after him, shouting that he should just go to Fat Burger instead. Vince shoves Brian, who swings at his face. Before long, the two are in a full-blown fight, much to Mia's horror.
"Dom, would you get out there, please? I'm sick of this shit." He doesn't move to stop the fight, so she tries again, "Dom!" When he still doesn't respond, Letty steps in, calling his name in an exhasperated voice that gets him on his feat and heading towards the brawlers. Jesse and Leon are watching with bemused interest, but the unnamed girl's head is cocked, her eyes critical and slightly confused. When Dom rips vince away and tells Brian not to come back, she speaks.
"Why did you fight?"
"Oh, well, Vince," Brian gestures to the other man, "doesn't want me around, but I keep showing up, so he thought he'd convince me not to come back by roughing me up a bit." Her eyebrows crinkle as she considers his reasoning.
"I suppose that makes sense. Like fighting over territory. I understand that. But, then, why was he doing such a poor job of it?" The group laughs as Vince's face turns beet-red.
"Sweetie, i dont know where you're from, but here, that'd be considered a pretty decent job of beating me up." Vince seems to relax a bit at Brian's admission.
"Really? But there's so much he could've done differently; better."
"How about this: when you've got your name and some new clothes, we'll all sit down and you can tell us what you think we should've done better. Alright?" Brian looks her in the eye, waiting for her agreement. She nods, not breaking eye contact and Mia steps forward to sweep her away to her first-ever shopping trip