A/N: After much work and time spent in front of computers and help from a nice person, this is what I've come up with. A completely and I mean COMPLETELY revamped first chapter to Joyride's End. This should satisfy those who read my story earlier…
The nice person who helped make this possible was Blackfire18 and if you haven't read her stories, you should read them. Thanks Blackfire18!!
Now, on with the story!
X.X.X.X.X.X
A black haired girl frowned as the blue haired woman beside her rattled on about what they were going to do tomorrow morning before they had to leave. There was nothing in the whole list that came from the girl's mouth that struck the other girl as fun for her. It was all fun for the blue haired girl.
"Rayn, can't we do something I want to do?" she asked wearily.
Rayn snorted. "We can do what you want to do when you have money, but since that's not likely to happen for years you'll do what I want to do, Mira. And if you don't like that, I'll have father send you less money for the rest of your school career."
Mira's expression soured. She hated to be reminded that she didn't come from a rich family. She was the only daughter of Krew's favorite sister who had died when Mira was only twelve. Rather than keep her as Rayn's playmate – which could have possibly made the relationship between the two girls a better one – he had sent her off to boarding school to live and learn. There was nothing she could do to change that because she didn't have a clue who her father was though her uncle did say that the man had been a very rich man who found a higher cause than her mother. It was just a load of rubbish meaning in plain English: the man was a rich snob who didn't want to have a child to waste his precious money on.
Oh I wish I was rich too, Mira thought with a roll of the eyes. Then maybe I could afford to buy you some manners, you stupid –
Her thoughts were interrupted by a couple of wolf whistles. She glanced past Rayn as the two of them stopped and saw a couple of boys sitting on their combat cars, watching them with smiles on their faces.
No, Mira thought enviously. They're not looking at us. They're looking at her and she loves every second of it. They're not interested in a flat, bony broad like me…They want someone who has something to offer on the physical level…
That seemed to be the story of Mira's life. All the boys from the all boys' school flocked towards Rayn. The blue haired daughter of Krew could have any of them that she wanted and the chances were that she had either already had them or was going to get to them first. Everyone back at school worshipped her because she had the weekly allowance of 10,000 orbs and was known to give away presents to the people she liked the most. And that never included Mira. No, Mira only got the second hand rubbish that Rayn was bored with.
"Can we offer you and your friend a ride somewhere darling?" one of the boys asked with a suggestive smile.
Mira crossed her arms. "We aren't friends and I'm not getting in a car with a dolt like you."
"Mira, be nice to the poor fellow," Rayn ordered with an apologetic smile at the boys. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but I'm afraid that I have to baby sit this little brat so I'll have to pass on the rides now. Thanks for the offer though."
"Anytime," the other said with a smile.
Rayn grabbed Mira by the wrist and pulled her away. "Talk to someone like that again when they clearly are talking to me and I will be forced to beat you senseless. This is my town, not yours."
"It's neither of ours," Mira reminded her cousin, wrenching her wrist out of her cousin's viselike grip. "It belongs to Uncle and that Mizo fellow."
"Well, that will change in a matter of time," Rayn declared confidently. "My father will take control from Mizo and then when he passes on, I will gain control of the family business and the whole damn city. You will just be my aid when I ask for your help."
"You mean 'demand' for it?" Mira glared at her cousin.
Rayn smirked. "Perhaps."
Mira sighed. She had been afraid of that. All of her lessons in the family business were going to be put to use as soon as Rayn gained control of the business. She knew she would become another tool for her cousin that would be discarded without second thought when the girl didn't need her anymore.
"Hmm…I'm thirsty," Rayn announced loudly, tapping her chin. "Where could I find a decent drink at this hour of the night?"
Mira looked around while her cousin pondered. She could see several places that they could go. There were a couple of bars, a café, and a few restaurants. All sounded good to her, but she knew that it wasn't going to be up to her where they were going to go. It was always going to be Rayn's and only Rayn's decision.
"I think we should go to that bar," Rayn said, pointing at a bar at the end of the street called the Bloody Hook. "Dad told me not to take you there because Mizo's gang goes there, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Maybe I can convince those blokes to knock some respect into you."
"So, you want to throw me to the wolves?"
Rayn laughed. "If Daddy would allow it, I would have thrown you to much worse sooner. But what he doesn't know won't hurt him…Come along Mira dear."
Mira sighed as her cousin started walking away, her hips swaying and her head held high. The blue haired woman walked with confidence and power that Mira knew she would never have if she continued to live as Rayn's unwanted shadow. Knowing that, Mira walked slowly after her cousin, thinking about all the things she'd rather be doing at that moment.
"I want to pick my own drink for once," Mira told her cousin as they neared the doors of the depressing looking Bloody Hook. "I'm old enough to choose what I put in my body."
Rayn smirked. "Fine. I'll have the bartender give you the kiddy menu to choose from. Get you a nice root beer or some harmless soda."
"Ha-ha, I'm only seven months younger than you, so don't you act like you're the big bossy adult here because frankly, you're only a prissy seventeen year old," Mira said. "Not to mention a few other adjectives that I would rather not say because they might just hurt your miniscule fragments of emotion that you still possess in your primped up body."
As they usually did, the words didn't make it through Rayn's thick head. She smoothed down the front of her shirt and pushed open the door to the bar. The instant the two girls entered the dark, cool bar Mira knew that she was in for another night of trouble.
The bar was full of thugs, some covered with scars and there were a few with missing limbs, and all eyes turned toward them. Rayn strode over to the bar and sat on the middle stool, placing her hands on her knee and puffing her chest out like some cocky bird. Young and older gentlemen immediately flocked towards her, offering to buy her a drink and started asking her out on dates and offered her a ride in their combat racing cars or zoomers.
Mira sighed again and walked over to the end of the bar, taking a seat on the stool that stood there. The bartender was busy with the large number of men clustered at the middle of the bar, so Mira knew she'd have to wait for service.
"Oh, this is going to be just swell," Mira muttered, drumming her fingers on the counter as she propped her chin up on her hand.
She heard the door open despite the noise coming from the flock of men, but didn't bother to glance over at it. Whoever had just entered was probably going to join the flock and therefore wouldn't offer any decent conversation with her. They'd just become another piece in Rayn's sick little love game.
Poor fellows don't know that she has them on strings like a puppet master, Mira thought, watching odd fish swim in the large aquarium that served as a window. She'll play with them all for awhile before slowly narrowing the field by choice of car, money, looks, and nerve…I don't think any of them stand a chance though because I know she's awfully picky about who she gets in a car with for a joyride…
She was aware of someone watching her and glanced over her shoulder. Her heart stopped for a brief moment and she fought to keep her mouth from falling open.
There stood Razer, the champion of the Combat Racing series. He was wearing his favorite red coat, black gloves, and had a burning cigarette in between his lips. And Mira was sure that she was his number one fan in the world, but knew that there were others who would love to disagree. With a look over at her invisible cousin, Mira looked back at the fish in the aquarium.
"You're in my seat little girl," Razer said with the accent that Mira liked.
"Get yourself a new seat then because I'm not getting up," Mira muttered, not wanting to give another rich person something that she had as her own. She felt she had done that too many times in her life for one too many rich people. "Besides, it's not like you're going to need a seat once my cousin over there turns her charm on you…You'll fall prey to her like every other bloke with brains in the wrong head."
She had the impression that Razer glanced over at her cousin and the crowd of men around her. Then she saw something remarkable out of the corner of her eye.
Razer did not make his way over to the group or try to catch Rayn's eye. Instead, he took a seat next to Mira and turned his back on the group behind him. Stunned, Mira looked at him.
"I am not one of those men with brains solely in their wrong head," Razer stated, blowing out a thin stream of smoke.
"But why would you want to be over here with me?" Mira demanded. "She's the prettier one. She meets you on the money side of things and she is your…second biggest fan in the world."
Razer smirked. "I have no interest for the pampered little rich girls like Rayn. They have enough personality to fit in a shot glass."
Mira nodded in agreement. "And you'd think with all the money they have that they could just go out and buy a good personality, but no. They'd rather be shallow, narcissistic, self-conscious brats that no one wants except to have a one night stand with." She rolled her eyes. "Their world revolves around them."
"And the worlds of all others should do the same," Razer muttered, tapping the ashes off his cigarette. "In their own almighty opinion."
"Yeah, and if no one else agrees with them, they get so pissed and throw a major temper tantrum," Mira said, propping her chin up on her hand. "Half the time they act like toddlers that were denied a toy in a toy store."
"Half the time? Try all the time little girl," Razer said with a glance over her body. "And what right do you have to talk about prissy little rich girls? Aren't you one?"
Mira looked offended. "Me? A prissy rich girl?" She laughed dryly. "Hardly. I come from the poor end of the rich family, thank you. And I was never spoiled, pampered, or trained to be prissy in any way. Where is the fun in prissy? Let's try rebel." She looked him over. "And why should you get to make fun of rich people? You're rich."
"I was kicked out the rich people club. Apparently there are rules to follow and I don't follow rules. I make my own."
Rayn's laughter broke the silence between them. Mira thought the blue haired girl was trying too hard, but didn't bother opening her mouth. Instead she glanced down the bar at the bartender.
"I wish he'd come over here," she muttered. "I've been waiting for awhile now and those blokes over there don't seem to be making much headway in who will be able to booze Rayn up…"
Razer smirked. "If it's a drink you want…" He turned and looked at the graying bartender. "Sanders, a moment of you time if you will."
The bartender moved away from the middle of the bar and made his way over to the end. "What can I get you Razer?" he asked. "A scotch? Brandy? Name it."
"A scotch." He glanced at Mira. "And get something fruity for this girl."
Mira bristled with suppressed anger and straightened in her seat. "I am not taking some fruity little drink. I can handle the good liquor. So Mr. Sanders, what's the strongest drink you've got?"
Sanders was hesitant in answering. "There's the Wasteland Brew, but that's not a drink for a lady."
"Good thing I'm not a lady," Mira said with a challenging look. "I'll have one mug of Wasteland Brew and I will pay for it with the money I stole from my cousin's purse, so don't bother offering Razer."
Sanders glanced at Razer uncertainly, but Razer nodded and the bartender got the drinks.
"You're got nerve little girl," Razer commented.
"My name isn't 'little girl'," Mira told him. "My name is Mira and I expect to be called that, seeing as it's my name."
Razer smirked and took a drag on his cigarette, studying her. He didn't say anything as Sanders presented them with their drinks. Mira reached over and grabbed her mug without hesitation.
"Now, Ms. Krew, don't say that I didn't warn you," Sanders said. "This is a powerful drink and it would knock even the biggest bum on his ass."
Mira shrugged a shoulder and took a hearty swig. She cocked an eyebrow and set the mug down. "And you say that this is the strongest stuff?" she asked.
"Yes."
"It's not that bad," Mira muttered. "It only tickles the throat on the way down and burns the tongue, leaving a nasty aftertaste. But other than that, it's pretty weak."
Sanders looked amazed. Razer smirked.
Mira glanced over at her cousin when she heard the false laughter cease. The blue haired girl was looking over the trio at the end of the bar with surprise. That surprise turned to cold fury and Mira watched the blue haired girl start processing the fact that Razer wasn't over there, vying for her attention. Instead, he was talking to Mira. He was having a drink with Mira. Not with her.
"Uh-oh," Mira muttered, looking back down at her drink. "You've attracted the attention of the beast…"
Razer didn't even bother looking over at the group behind him. "Have I? If she has noticed, then she can remain where she is, watching. I will not come for her."
Mira frowned. "Do you even want her?"
A dark eyebrow quirked up. "Jealous?"
"What's there to be jealous of?" Mira shot back. "It's not like she'd keep you for very long if you did manage to win her over. That's the story of a prissy rich girl's love life. They keep their man for as long as they can drain him of his money and precious time and then they dump him without a care, ready to move onto the next sucker." She glanced him over out of the corner of her eye. "You don't look like one of those easily suckered types. But I've never been that good of a judge of people, so I could be wrong."
Mira tapped her fingernails against the sides of her mug, staring at the fish in the aquarium again. She could feel Razer's eyes on her and almost hear the wheels in Rayn's head turning as the blue haired woman formulated her evil little plans to make Razer part of her game.
Why do all men have to be the same to her? Mira asked herself. There are some decent chaps out there who have ladies counting on them to show up as their knight in shining armor and she takes them away for awhile. Is there ever going to be a man that she can't have first? Is there going to be a guy that would prefer someone like me over someone like her?
Mira rolled her eyes. Of course there could be, but I'll never find him. I'll be attached to Rayn's side and she'll only let me have my pick of her dismissed blokes. And I know none of them are worth it once she's sunk her greedy little claws into them.
"Mira, why don't you introduce me to your new friend?" Rayn's voice broke into Mira's thoughts.
Mira turned in her seat and looked at her cousin. "You already know him, seeing as you scream at the television every time he comes on it. Even if you didn't, you'd know him as your father's enemy."
"Mira, where are your manners?" Rayn asked through clenched teeth. She turned a catlike smile on Razer. "It's nice to finally meet you, Razer," she purred, offering her hand out.
Mira thought for a moment that Razer was about to take the hand that Rayn offered to him. Instead, he tapped some ashes onto the pale hand that was outstretched to him. Rayn looked slightly horrified for a moment.
"I know," Razer said, putting his cigarette back in between his lips.
Score one for the champion, Mira thought with a smirk.
Rayn brushed away the ashes and put a hand on her hip, puffing her chest out a little more. "Razer, you seem to forget who you are talking to. I am the daughter of Krew and I am extending a hand out in friendship."
"He declined the offer," Mira pointed out.
"Mira, stay out of this!" Rayn hissed through her teeth again. "Razer, perhaps we could talk over a drink…Business talk. Perhaps we could make a deal…"
"We could," Razer agreed. "You'd need to buy your own drink because I came shortchanged today."
Rayn smiled and reached into her purse, pulling out orbs. Mira stood up just as Rayn sat down and placed some orbs on the counter.
"Thanks for the drink Sanders," Mira muttered. She leaned close to Razer's ear. "And stay out of my seat, I'll be right back."
She could feel his eyes on her backside as she walked over to the women's restroom and disappeared behind the safety of its wooden door. She glared at the person in the grimy mirror and stuck her tongue out at them. They copied her.
Oh yes, this will be the highlight of your whole vacation, Mira thought bitterly, staring back at the moss green eyes of her reflection. The girls will love to hear how you were talking to Razer and ended up going into the bathroom to make faces at your reflection. Then they'll find out that Rayn was having a drink with him and their attention will instantly be hers. A simple girl can't have real friends when she's related to the blue haired goddess of money and broken hearts. A simple girl can't have a conversation with the man that she's fantasized being with since she found out that guys didn't have cooties. I mean, c'mon! Who wouldn't want a hot, twenty-nine year old champion? Obviously not Rayn because she's out there with him…talking to him, laughing with him…fantasizing about him…
Mira glared at her reflection and felt her fingers tighten on the sides of the stone sink to the point that it hurt. "It's not fair."
The door handle turned behind her and Mira watched the door through the mirror, willing whoever it was to go away. She knew it was probably Rayn, coming to fix her makeup. The blue haired woman would probably gloat about how she was going to have a nice night with Razer. Mira could even hear the blue haired brat thanking her for keeping Razer busy long enough for her to see the man.
Of all the nerve, Mira thought angrily, glaring down at the white showing through the skin on her hands. I know she'd do that…she'd do it or she'd completely hog the credit. It'd be so like her. God, I hate that woman!
X.X.X.X.X.X
Razer had watched the raven haired girl head into the bathroom. He was no expert in women, but he could tell from the simple fact that she had left her purse that she hadn't gone in there to fix her makeup. She had gone in there out of defeat when her cousin had sat down at his other side, ready to order a drink that the blue haired brat thought she could share with him over talk of business.
He reached over and pulled the small, battered leather purse close. He could feel how light it was and knew that the girl hadn't lied when she had said that she had come from the low end of the rich family of Krew. No rich girl would have let her purse get this ragged without going out and buying the latest fashion of handbag to replace it. And no rich girl would have been caught with such a light purse when the purse carried all their essential beauty products.
"So, shall we talk?" Rayn asked, smiling at him.
Razer noticed that the top two buttons on Rayn's shirt were conveniently popped open. The girl was being too obvious in her attempts to seduce him and even if she wasn't, it wouldn't do her any good. He wasn't looking for someone like her.
"No." Razer said, standing up.
Rayn pouted. "What? You have got to be joking."
Razer ignored the blue haired girl's muttering as he walked over to the bathroom that the raven haired girl had vanished into. He could hear her muttering to herself quietly and didn't bother knocking. The instant that he turned the door handle, the girl fell silent in there. He opened the door open wide enough to see her standing in front of the mirror, hands tightly gripping the sides of the sink. Her expression turned from defeat to one of confusion.
"What do you want?" she demanded in a flat voice. "Because if you're looking for a place to shag my cousin, you won't find it in here. I'm staying here until I can think of a way to get back to Uncle's mansion…with or without her."
Razer slipped into the girl's bathroom and showed her the purse that he had in his hand. "You forgot this. Can't have a girl's makeup get all runny because she can't handle her cousin."
Mira shook her head. "The only makeup I have in there is a concealer and chapstick. And there are a handful of orbs in there, but that's it." She looked over her shoulder at him. "See? I'm not a prissy little rich girl."
Razer crossed the small room and put the purse on a hook that was attached to the wall. "No. You're a sad little girl. You're a weakling."
Mira glared at him and poked him in the chest. "You have no idea how long I've lived with this! You don't know me! And I'm sure as hell not going to let you get off on my problems with my cousin just because I like you!" She took a step closer. "I am not weak. I was beaten down. If I don't give her what she wants, she'll make trouble for me."
"Everyone needs a healthy dose of trouble in their lives," Razer said calmly, not bothered by the fact that she had touched him rougher than he thought she could. "It makes life that much more entertaining."
Mira sighed and grabbed her purse, shouldering it. "I don't see how you could want more trouble from the Krew family. Even if you come after me, my uncle will still make your life a nightmare. He'll make my life a nightmare for letting myself get mixed up in all of this so soon."
"Do you always do what Krew tells you to do?" Razer inquired.
"Well, no…I work on combat cars and race them in midnight races back at school and he told me he never wanted me to get in one…"
"Then why are you worried about a little trouble?"
Mira sighed and hugged herself, looking at the door as if expecting her cousin to show up at any moment. "I just…I want to have fun without her telling me what to do…That's all I want, but that's not going to be possible because –"
Razer walked over and pressed her back against the dirty wall. She gasped and looked up into his cold blue eyes. She didn't look afraid, in fact, she looked kind of amused that he had done that to shut her up. He could hear her heart beating a little faster almost like it was expecting something from him.
Razer smirked and looked down at her. "If it's fun you want, I say you ditch your cousin for once in your life and actually live."
Mira bit her bottom lip and Razer found it odd that it made her appear cuter when she was nervous. "I…What exactly do you plan to do with me?"
"You'll never know if you continue to hide in the ladies' room for the rest of the night." He lowered his face closer to hers. "So, are you in little girl?"
Mira nodded, not as enthusiastically like he was used to, but it was a nod. She looked pretty for a school girl, even if she hadn't filled in yet. He felt almost drawn to her and before he knew what he was doing, his lips were drawing closer to hers.
The door broke the moment when it opened and standing there was a fuming Rayn. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on the two of them pressed against a wall, their bodies almost touching all the way. Razer could tell that the sight was almost killing her from the inside.
"Have you never heard of knocking?" Razer asked, pushing himself away from Mira, who looked almost disappointed.
"Mira," Rayn hissed the word like it was the most disgusting word she had ever encountered. "It's time to go home. Father will be expecting us."
Mira moved as if she was going to walk over to Rayn, but Razer threw an arm out, catching the girl across the chest. She glared at him, something in her eyes telling him that she wasn't going to go anywhere if he let her be near her cousin for just a moment. So, he let her go.
The raven haired girl strode over to her cousin, standing tall for the first time that Razer had seen her stand. Rayn sneered as her cousin approached her, her hand looking ready to strike the girl for doing something that she viewed as wrong.
"Now Rayn dear," Mira crooned in a mocking tone of voice. "Why don't you run off and go to your daddy? It's time for the rebels to come out and play for awhile."
"Mira, you have to listen to me."
"No. I don't. Not anymore."
Razer walked past them, brushing his arm against Mira's. He felt the girl's eyes turn onto him and heard her push past her cousin to follow him like an obedient puppy.
"Mira, it's time to go home!!" Rayn snapped.
A moment later, he heard the sound of someone being struck. He turned and saw Mira holding her hand, poised to hit her stunned cousin again. Rayn was clutching her cheek with stunned eyes that were watering.
So the girl does have some backbone, Razer thought with an amused smirk.
X.X.X.X.X.X
Mira stood there, shocked at what she had just done and how glad she was to have done it. Rayn was looking at her as if she was a psychopath and Mira could feel others looking at her the same way. She could tell there was a smirk on Razer's face even though she had her back to him.
"Mira…how could you?" Rayn demanded, letting her hand drop to reveal the red mark Mira's hand had left behind. "We're cousins."
"That's all we are. Cousins." Mira said bitterly. "You haven't been my friend in years and I've been your servant for as long as we haven't been friends. Well, not anymore. I've had enough of that. Now, I'm going to do what I want and you're going to let me. If not, I could slap you again."
"I'll – I'll tell father!" Rayn threatened.
"Good. Trouble makes life…entertaining," Mira muttered, turning her back on her cousin.
She walked over to Razer and smirked up at him. "Shall we go now?" she asked calmly.
Razer turned and led the way out of the bar. Mira glanced over her shoulder as she followed him and saw Rayn regrouping. The blue haired girl looked livid as she stormed after the two of them.
Razer held the passenger side door of his combat racing car open for her like a gentleman. Mira climbed in and smoothed the front of her skirt after putting the seatbelt on. Rayn appeared once Razer had closed the door.
"There's only room for two," Mira told her cousin as she rested her arm along the open window.
Rayn's fingernails dug into Mira's arm as the girl gripped it. "Father will not be pleased with you…And if this bloke brings you back alive, you better sleep with one eye open because I will kill you!"
Mira shrugged a shoulder and glanced to her left as Razer got in the driver's side. "It's not like you haven't tried before…This isn't any different. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out for a night of fun on my own terms."
Rayn let go of Mira's arm when the engine of Razer's Havoc roared to life. Mira could see the cold fury in Rayn's eyes through the rear view mirror as the car tore out of the parking lot of the Bloody Hook. The blue haired woman continued to shrink and then she was gone as the Havoc made a turn around a corner.
Mira sighed and settled back against the soft leather of the seat. "I am going to be in so much trouble…" She smiled. "And oddly, I'm all right with that."
Razer smirked and flicked his cigarette out the window. "Good because we're just getting to the fun part."
Mira's eyes sparkled and she looked out the window at the world passing them by in a blur of gray and black. She couldn't wait to have some real fun for the first time in years.
X.X.X.X.X.X
Razer did not disappoint Mira that night. He took her all over Kras City, through ritzy neighborhoods and the slums. They even managed to get into an illegal drag race and of course, Razer won before the cops showed up. From there, Razer led the cops on a high speed chase all over town, taking the back streets and sneaking through alleys that the cops couldn't maneuver through as well as he could. All the while, Mira was cheering for Razer and laughing as the car slid through the turns, sometimes even scraping against the wall.
The joyride lasted until well past midnight, but Mira wasn't feeling too sleepy. She was too excited to be sleepy. Even as she leaned against the hood of Razer's car outside the gate of her uncle's mansion, she was happily replaying the joyride through her head over and over again.
"You may not know this, but this was the first joyride I've ever been on," Mira commented with a glance over at Razer.
"I find that hard to believe," Razer muttered, lighting a fresh cigarette. "The boys probably flock towards a girl like you when the blue haired brat from Hell is nowhere to be seen."
"You'd think that," Mira said with a sigh. "But most boys are turned off by a girl interested in fixing cars up. And there is no way I'm taking sloppy seconds from Rayn. That's why I can't wait until I graduate in two years. Then I can come out from under Rayn's shadow and go out in the world to find someone out there who I can go on joyrides with no matter how late the hour is."
She glanced up at the grand mansion on the hill behind the gate with sadness. "I won't let them rule my life anymore when I graduate. I'll be my own person. I'll fall in love with someone that Rayn can't touch and I'll be happy."
Razer's hand grazed the back of hers. "You don't have to look hard for men who wouldn't want that brat."
Mira's gaze turned to his. "I guess not. There are guys out there like you who won't want a thing to do with Rayn and I'm glad that you've helped me see that. I'm glad that I've met you and I wish that I didn't have to go back to school tomorrow because I would have loved to have another day to get to know the champion of the combat racing series."
Razer smirked. "There will be time for that later. But now I think it's time for the little girls to be off to bed."
Mira frowned as she looked back up at the mansion. "I guess you're right. I can't say that I'll have much sleep tonight, but I'll survive. Rayn's aim sucks."
She straightened and started off, but Razer's black gloved hand caught hers. She glanced at him with a question in her eyes.
"Goodnight Mira," Razer said, letting her hand go.
Mira smiled slightly. "Goodnight Razer."
Razer looked slightly annoyed with himself as Mira walked over to the gate and disappeared behind it. Mira had thought that maybe he was going to end up kissing her before he let her go, but she shook her head, thinking that only overly excited fan girls would have expected that.
That or they would have pounced on him and sucked his face off, Mira thought with a glance back at Razer as the Havoc tore off into the night. I had a great night though.
X.X.X.X.X.X
Mira stifled a yawn as she stood at the ferry docks, waiting for the ferry to show up. It was already ten minutes late, but that didn't bother her. She wanted to stay in Kras City as long as she possibly could so she could savor the memories she had enjoyed playing back all night. Of course, Rayn and Krew thought differently and wanted the two girls to get back to school as soon as possible.
She had received one major talking to from her uncle when she had made it into the mansion. Rayn had proved very creative in what Mira had done, claiming that Mira had left Rayn in the midst of rapists and murderers to fend for herself after beating her senseless and robbing her. Mira hadn't bothered to convince her uncle differently because she had known that it wouldn't do anything to aid her. Krew favored his daughter and he would only make her punishment worse if she tried to worm her way out of it.
So, she was grounded indefinitely. She wasn't allowed to leave school grounds until she graduated and then she was going to be forced to live in the mansion under supervision for years after that. Only if her uncle died would her punishment be lifted and Mira knew better than to hope that the old man would die soon. She didn't even want him to die because he was probably the only family member she had left that she cared for most of the time.
Her friends were huddled around Rayn, who was talking animatedly about the celebrities she had encountered and dined with. From where Mira stood, she could hear Rayn's lies about hanging out with Razer at a ritzy bar that Mira had never heard of before. And the girls were eating it up like they couldn't have enough of it.
"What a liar," Mira muttered, shaking her head in disapproval. "Can't even get her facts straight for a moment."
The smell of cigarette smoke met her nose, but it wasn't an overpowering, disgusting scent. It was familiar and welcome even after one night of exposure.
"That has never been one of her strong points," Razer said, appearing next to her with one hand shoved in his red coat pocket.
"No, it hasn't," Mira agreed, only looking at him through the corner of her eye. "What are you doing here? Come to see me off, have you?"
"I thought another dose of trouble would do good for the both of us," Razer commented with a smirk in her direction.
Mira couldn't help but smile. "What do you have in mind now? Because it's not like I can race off into the sunrise with you at the moment. I have to go back to school."
"I have unfinished business with you," Razer announced calmly, flicking his cigarette aside. "And I'm not letting you leave until I've taken care of it."
Mira turned to face him full on. "What exactly have we left unfinished?" she demanded. "Do I have some money that I owe you for the paint damage? Or some unknown ransom money?"
"No."
Razer grabbed her and kissed her roughly. Mira could hear her friends squealing as they watched this. She could picture Rayn's infuriated expression in her mind's eye as she melted into the kiss. Then it was over and Razer was pulling away.
"Happy now?" Mira asked, placing a hand against her cheek to find that it was burning.
Krew was yelling profanities and calling for his bodyguards to do something about Razer's presence. Razer smirked.
"Yes. I believe that will do for now," he said. "Now run along like a good girl and go to school. I will see you in two years if not sooner."
Mira smiled and held her hand out to him. He took it gently in his large hand and shook it. "In two years then," Mira said. "Maybe we can have another joyride or a drink."
Razer nodded. "Now go. You're about to become popular."
Mira glanced over at her friends and noticed that they were all racing towards her, leaving Rayn behind to fume. "You better go too," she muttered with a glance in his direction.
But he was already gone. Floating video cameras zoomed around her and Mira bowed her head, hurrying onto the ferry with all eyes on her for the first time in a long time. And she liked it a little, but found a place in the back of the ferry where she was partially hidden by the fog.
This was one swell vacation, Mira thought happily, setting her bags down. And in two years, I get to do it all over again…hopefully.
"MIRA!!!" her friends screamed, rushing towards her. "Tell us everything!!"
X.X.X.X.X.X
A/N: And we'll leave the story there for a little while or at least until I edit the second chapter and get some reviews. I welcome those who that have reviewed me before to give me your opinion of this edit. Do you like what I've done? Or do you still think that this is a bad story and should be deleted? Let me know via review and I'll be one happy camper.