AN: so this has nothing to do with glee, except the character thats about it, also this is very and I mean very AU, examples, Matt is as old a Will, Puck's sister is older, and it is set in LA. Other then that I don't know what else to write here. Well enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own glee would be cool though just saying.
Everything depends on the car you drive. The underground is split between different groups trying to prove that they are the best but in reality, there are few and far from being the best. It's a racers job to know when to go, anticipate the turns, and problems that their fellow drivers will create for them so they can will the pot. Most racers are guys, and there are girls that support them. Sure not all of them are active but that's not their problem. Its times like this when you get newbie's, little hot heads that think they can just waltz in and steal the old school's thunder. I remember the first race I ever saw.
Growing up I lived on the crappy part of town: drugs, prostitutes, men beating women was a staple in my life. I snuck out of the house one day when my parents were fighting and my brother was too high to realize that I left through the window.
And there it was. Beautiful cars, most of them were exotic but I knew then this was the world that I wanted to be part of. So I continued to walk around the floor and saw greens, blues, neon yellows, reds, grays, and every car color imaginable there. It was then I heard a shout- the race was about to begin. I followed the crowd to the sidewalk and watched. I never knew the names but I remember their cars.
A deep red color car won. The man that got out couldn't have been any older then my brother, and the announcer guy who I later found out he went by the name Bryan, announcer the winner. Against all odds he said the new comer Will had won. I saw them hug afterwards and heard them talk out being brothers. This was before they had been apart. Will went with a group called WM and almost a year later, Bryan joined something called SC.
They were my favorite racers to watch. But because they were now on opposite sides when they raced each other they were ruthless. Will had broken Bryan's hand in one race and Bryan returned the favor breaking Will's left arm. I never seen the two men that I grew up watching act like this before. Sure they never knew me but it pained me to see all the damage they were willing to do to each other for a race.
In 2007, Will left WM. I don't know how he was able to get out but he managed and he started his own company called Acafella's. I still watch the races. I still love this world that I've become part of, and what's even better is I love winning the pot at the end of the race. Well, at least in my dream I like winning the pot.
"Tina, Tina Chang," my boss yelled. I jumped from where I was sitting at the table I was supposed to be clearing. This is the third time Mr. Kwon caught me.
"I'm sorry Mr. Kwon, it's just my parents are fighting again and it's keeping me up at all hours of the night," I cried into my hands. I moved out of my parents' house when I was fifteen. My brother needed somebody to take care of him, and his garage.
"Miss Chang I'm sorry for that but this is the third time today. I'm sorry but your focus is all wrong. We are letting you go," he told me. I stood there for a minute, and slowly walked to the back, grabbed my bag, said goodbye to Lea and walked back to the front of the restaurant. He patted my shoulder as I walked out of his business.
Third job I got fired from in four months. I'm on a roll. Walking the streets of my little area wasn't a brilliant idea if you're not from around here. I knew what streets to avoid and what time of night to be home by. I saw my brother's garage up ahead; maybe finally he'll let me work here instead of useless jobs at restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores. "Matt, I'm back. I just got fired too," I said walking up the stairs to his apartment above the garage.
"Tina, that's the third job in four months," he said. The disappointment in his voice was pretty apparent.
"Yeah, well if you would let me do something other than just go and look for jobs that I have no interest in and let me work on the cars we wouldn't have this problem," I told him after I placed my bag down on the counter. Matt wasn't my real brother but he took me in after my step dad started beating me and my mom.
My brother and me had a stare down, both of us not wanting to give up or even back down. He sighed and walked to the kitchen. I was close to winning the argument, so close, but instead he goes and hides in the kitchen. I sat down on the couch where he last sat and just waited for him to come back out.
"You really want to work for the garage," he asked me.
"Yes, please! I've been around cars, I know the models, I know how to fix them, and please Mattie, I promise, if I get to work on the cars I won't want to go and race them," I tried at my first attempt of pleading.
When he huffed and shook his head, I knew I got him.
"You start in the morning, but no favoritism. Don't expect others to do your work if you can't handle it and remember the guys that work for me, they think that they'll be able to walk all over you because you're a girl."
I hugged him: I was finally being allowed to do the job that I had wanted for so long.
"Thank you, thank you! Do you need help with dinner?" I asked him. It was the least I could do.
"No, but check on Missy please. It's about time for her to get up."
I nodded and walked towards the room. "Hi baby," I said looking down at my sleeping niece.
During the time that I would sneak out to look for the races, my brother was busy getting with girls. The one that he actually forgot to protect himself with got pregnant. While she was preggers, my brother worked hard to clean himself up and get a job so he could provide a life for his baby. After the baby was born Missy's mom wanted nothing to do with my brother or my niece. So she walked out of the picture, she signed over all parental rights to her and she left. Last time I heard about her she died from an overdose and a car accident.
It's been six years since that happened. After graduating high school, I didn't bother applying to college because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I just had to wait until my brother said that it was ok that I joined his merry band of misfits.
"Hi aunty," Missy said looking up. Missy had damage done. Before my niece was born her mom was still using and she was in a car accident that left my niece paralyzed from the legs down.
I picked her up and placed her in the wheelchair that was next to her bed. She slowly rolled out to the hallway. There were days when it was hard for her to even move but she kept moving. Even if she is a lot younger than me, she's the one who inspires me, to remember what I have and not to take it for granted. I walked out of her room and watched my brother, the person who, at one time, was so high almost drove off a cliff thinking that he was ok. It's amazing what someone can so when they find themselves responsible for another human being's life.
"Auntie, you coming to eat?" I heard Missy call.
"Yeah I'm on my way as we speak," I replied walking into the kitchen.
Eating in silence didn't surprise me. We ate like this all the time. I sat at my brother's table feeling the happiest I ever really felt in my entire life. I never knew that my life could be so… Good, even when I thought it would be so bad.
The first day I walked into the garage I got whistled at. I knew it would happen so I did nothing about it and just carried on to where my brother was so I could do my first job.
That's when I saw it. One of the most beautiful cars ever: a 2010 Lotus Elise Club Racer. It was all black. "That's one beautiful car," I muttered to myself, still shocked at the thing. I walked to it and started going over specs in my head, 0-60 in 5.7 0-100 in 6.1. "This baby right here is going to be a winner, as long as the driver can handle the power," I thought to myself.
Well, I thought I said it to myself. "Oh, I'm sure I can handle the power. Now what's a race rat like you working in a top garage?" a voice crept behind me.
"You think I'm a race rat? I've been around racing longer than you ever had so I'd suggest you shut up," getting up in the guy's face. A race rat: a girl that's around for the money and the notoriety that the racers get when they win. A race rat is the biggest insult you can say to a girl.
"Tina, this is Finn. He works for Will," Matt informed me. I was pretty shocked. Sure, I haven't been to the race scene in a while but I should have heard that there was a newbie. "He's part of the team that I want you to work for, Tee."
I nodded. Great, now I have to work with a lot of self-righteous assholes and I can't say anything in fear of losing my job. He may be my brother but it doesn't mean that me keeping this job forever is set in stone. "This is the person that you promised us? I bet she can't even tell me how fast this car will go to 100."
"It will reach 100 in 6.1 seconds. That's if your man enough to drive at that speed." This Finn guy really needs to know who he's up against. "Pop the hood, sir."
He followed my command. "It's a six gear, C64; lightweight aluminum construction, close ratio; constant mesh helical gears. That's just your transmission," I pointed out. "Now for your dimensions, 9.6 gal, 2 seat, 2 doors. It's 149.0 in long, 67.7 in wide, 44 in high. The wheel base is 90.6 in, front track 57.4 in, rear track 58.3, ground clearance 5.118 in. Front overhang 30.8 in, rear over hang is 27.6 in. That's if you have the same body that it came with. Should I move on to the suspension or do you think I can do my job?" putting my hand on my hip.
He started giving this weird look and I didn't really know how to comprehend, until a crooked smile crept on his face. "Impressive. Let's take you to meet the boys and see if you impress them just as much." He grabbed my hand and pushed me into the passenger side. "Hold on tight," and we took off.
He can drive. He can drive fast. And to think that I said he wasn't a man because he called me race rat. Oh well. You just don't call someone a race rat. That's just wrong, especially when they've been around racing longer than they have. When I got out of his car the first thing I saw was a beauty. Another completely blacked off ride, wheels and all. It had to be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, not including my niece right after she was born. "That's a 2010 Audi R8 GT, 0-60 in 3.6 sec, the top speed is 320 km/h."
I walked up to it. It was like I was seeing inside the hood even with it down and me and this car were the only thing in the room. "The engine is a V-10, supercharged, horsepower alone is 560 HP at 7750 RPM, then the torque 428 Ft-Lbs at 5500 RPM, fuel inject, the block and head are aluminum alloy, crankshaft high strength aluminum alloy casting, the pistons aluminum, and connecting rods are forged steel. There are two possibilities for the transmission. This has an automatic, with launch control, and the final drive is 3.077," I sighed out. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that the only things I have and will fall in love with are cars. Not boys. They're just too complicated. But this has got be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
I heard claps coming from behind the car. "Good. For a race rat," I heard. I'm pretty sure you get the gist of my feelings when it comes to the term 'race rat.'
"A race rat? Then why do I know so much about cars, hm? I've been watching races since I was 10-years-old, old enough to sneak out of the apartment and watch some of the best underground racers race. The first race I ever watched was your boss's and he won. Don't call me a race rat when honestly, I should probably be calling you one," looking him straight in the eye.
I was so close our noses were almost touching. His eyes widened and he looked surprised that I even talked back to him. The ones that stood behind him had opened their mouths in shock, all except Finn. "Wow, so you just impressed them. Anyway we need you to fix this car up by midnight."