Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with the Fast and the Furious, or anything else you may recognise. This is for entertainment purposes only.

Authors Note: Well, here's a new story for your eyes to feast on. It's set about one year after the first film and will eventually lead up to the newest film in the franchise. Since there was no mention of what happened to these three, in my opinion, integral characters, this is just my take on how things may have gone. I've added some new characters and even though I do this with most of my stories, I'm usually very tentative about it and strive to make them honest and believable. Hopefully, you'll let me know if I've failed on that part. Most of this first chapter spilled out of me so fast, I could barely type fast enough and I'm eager to know what you might think, so please if you have a little spare time you'll let me know? I hope you enjoy. Stay classy readers, and thanks for stopping by.

Sizeable Scars

By Venus as a Girl

Jesse

A young man lay half asleep on the beach. His bare torso rose and fell with every breath and exposed wicked looking scars that held a past full of mistakes he would much rather forget. An old beanie hat covered his face and music blared through his earphones, blocking out the rest of the world. In his hand, a half drunk bottle of Corona sweltered beneath the sun and threatened to spill its contents onto the sand.

His peace was soon disturbed as something hit him, hard, on the chest. He jolted awake, hat falling away from his face and beer splattering his stomach. He sat up, groggy and confused from his afternoon siesta, pulling the earphones away from his ears. He looked around through squinted eyes, trying to find the culprit that had awoken him from his recurring dream – a faceless girl who he was in love with.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" A girl hurried towards him with concern-filled eyes. Jesse looked up at her. She was clad in a bikini top and short shorts that exposed a tiny frame. Her ash-blonde pigtails gave her a childlike innocence, kept in tow by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She knelt down next to him, eyes roaming over his marked body making him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He grabbed his t-shirt and covered himself up with one hand, while taking a swig of warm beer with the other. He cringed at its taste but he was never one to throw away beer, especially a Corona.

"I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm a terrible catch and Hannah has a real strong arm on her so we probably shouldn't be playing so close to people really. I mean we were walking as we played so we could've encountered anyone really but still that's not the point. I'm so sorry!"

He blinked slowly as she fired off a million things at him. He swallowed thickly, looking up as a red headed girl approached. She had an eyebrow raised behind her friend but a smile all the same. "Jessica, take it down a notch, babe."

"Oh! Sorry," she replied, twisting one of her pigtails around her finger.

"Uh, that's okay," he muttered, carefully placing his bottle into the sand and sitting up fully.

"Oh, you've got a red mark on your chest now. I really am sorry," Jessica repeated.

He nodded at her, "It's okay, really." He smiled shyly, unconsciously rubbing the spot where their ball had hit him. He could feel his face burn more than it already was from the sunshine so he took another swig of his beverage to try and calm his nerves.

"I'm Jessica," she smiled, flashing a row of pearly whites at him.

"Jesse," he replied.

"Oh my gosh, that's so strange. Do people call you Jess? They call me Jess, I don't know which I like best. I guess I don't mind really, as long as they don't call me something bad." Jesse stared at her, still half-smiling but unsure how to take the motor mouth. "My friend, Tilda, calls me Jessifer sometimes, I don't know why but it's pretty funny. I like having a nickname, it's kind of like an in-joke or something only everyone knows about it, ya know?"

Hannah had fetched their ball in the meantime and was now back with them. "Jess, we better get a wriggle on. We've gotta meet Tilda in like ten and she'll flip if we're not there on time."

"Oh yeah," Jessica said, standing up and brushing the sand from her legs. "Well, it was nice to meet you Jesse. Sorry again." She smiled at him again.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled back.

"Bye," smiled Hannah, leading her talkative friend away. Jesse watched after them a moment, feeling slightly guilty that he was checking them both out now. He shook his head and stood up, pulling his shirt on properly. Grabbing his iPod and his Corona bottle, he began making his journey back to the place he now called home.

It was a five minute walk from his spot on the beach, which suited him perfectly. Ever the grease monkey, he didn't care much for walking and would much prefer a ride in a fast car any day. He couldn't complain though, he did have a love for the beach and could often be found watching the ocean at any time of the day.

As he arrived back at the house he shared with his two best friends, he could hear some TV show being played. He went in through the back, climbing over the low wall onto the patio and going through the kitchen door.

"Hey Le." He greeted the blonde haired guy who was at the counter top making a monster of a sandwich.

"'Sup Jesse," he replied, through a mouthful of cheese. "Want one?" He enquired, holding the sandwich up.

"Nah, I'm good."

"Cool." Leon wandered back through the house to the sound of the television, plopping on the couch and becoming immediately engrossed.

"What are you even watching? I didn't know you knew Spanish." Jesse said, bemused. He opened the fridge, putting his half drunk bottle of beer carefully in the door and taking out two cold ones. He ripped the tops off both bottles and sat in the chair opposite the couch, pushing the second bottle towards his friend.

"Cheers bro." Leon took a long swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "It's this soap opera, I think there's some kind of marathon of it or somethin', it's been on all day. I think I kinda know what's goin' on now."

"You've been watching it all day?" Jesse asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Yeah man, it's awesome. Plus, there's nothing else on." Leon shrugged, tucking into the rest of his feast.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the case."

"Don't get fresh boy. I'll hide the beer from you," Leon teased. Jesse smirked, shaking his head, unable to take him seriously when he had a huge spot of mayonnaise on his chin. "Now shut up, I'm tryin' to watch."

Jesse grabbed his beer from the table and made his way upstairs to the bathroom. The day was winding down and he needed to wash away the sweat, sand and beer. He stripped off and eased himself beneath the lukewarm water of the shower. As he washed, he allowed his hands to linger that little bit longer over the biggest scar. It was but a small reminder of things that had happened the previous summer, things he would give anything to change. The first bullet had gone straight through him, causing no 'lasting damage', as the doctors had put it. The second, however, had lodged itself neatly in his stomach, causing months and months of recovery. They told him he was lucky, that if the bullet had been a mere centimetre to the left he would have been paralysed. Or dead.

His head was constantly filled with the 'what-ifs?'. What if the bullet had taken a slightly different course? Would he still be alive to tell the tale of that fateful day? What if he had listened to Leon and not raced Johnny Tran at Race Wars? What if he had taken part in the last heist? Would everything have worked out for them? Even though Brian was a cop?

Try as he could, when he was alone and lost in his thoughts, he couldn't help but think of such questions. He sometimes came up with alternative situations, whereby he and the team still lived at The Fort and they still raced and still worked on cars and everything was...How it should have been.

A loud pounding on the bathroom door shook him from his thoughts and he realised he had no idea how long he'd been in the shower. He turned the water off, noting that his fingers had wrinkled up like prunes. "One sec!" He shouted, throwing a towel around his waist and grabbing his pile of clothes from the floor.

He unlocked the door, finding himself face-to-face with an irate looking Vince. "I hope you cleaned up after yourself. Jerk off in your room from now on, will ya?" He ranted, pushing past Jesse and slamming the door behind himself.

"At least I don't do it into a sock!" He retorted, quickly making himself scarce, lest he face more of Vince's wrath. Too much time spent with just the guys had made him a little more mouthy than he once had been. Vince and Leon constantly ripped into one and another, and they didn't leave him out either. They always came up with things to try and gross each other out. Things, Jesse thought, Mia would have told them off for. When he got to his room, he quietly shut the door behind him and flicked on his stereo, his ears pleased to hear the soft tones of Radiohead. He lay on his bed, flicking through a Spiderman comic while he dried off naturally.

A short while later, he woke with a start, his comic stuck to his face. He peeled it away and sat up, rubbing at his eyes and wondering why he kept falling asleep every time he stopped moving. He quickly got dressed and wandered downstairs to the living room, finding Vince and Leon drinking beers and watching Bullitt. He grabbed himself a beer and a bag of potato chips and joined them for the last twenty minutes of the film.

"What time is it?" Jesse asked, as the credits rolled.

"Just after nine," Leon replied, jumping up from his spot on the couch. "Tony's?"

"Good plan," answered Vince. The three of them, clean and ready for the night ahead, turned off the television and made their way to the local bar. It was a ten minute walk from where they were staying, but within five minutes they could hear the music clear enough to establish the song. A huge, glowing neon sign proclaimed the buildings name – Black Magic. It was a seedy joint, with a pretty ridiculous name, but it was close-by and on a Saturday night was usually filled with people ready to party.

As they arrived, a number of people spilled out of the main doors, lighting up cigarettes once they were outside. They pushed through people, heading straight for the bar as they usually did. When they eventually managed to get served, Leon ordered up their usual – three shots of Sambuca and three bottles of Corona. Together, they downed their shots, slamming their glasses back down on the bar and taking their beers with them. They squeezed over to a free space by the dance floor, taking care not to lean back against the sticky walls. Leon leaned over to Jesse, shouting something he was unable to hear.

"What?!" Jesse hollered back, indicating that he couldn't hear him. Leon grabbed his head, turning it to the dance floor where he locked his sight on three girls dancing together, seemingly unaware of the stares they were receiving from everyone around them. It took a moment, but he eventually recognised two of them from the beach earlier that day. He turned back to Leon, nodding his head and smiling.

He would have explained the story from earlier had the music not been deafening - but that could wait until later. As the track changed, the girls made their way off the dance floor, weaving through sweaty people. Leon grabbed Jesse and they made tracks to follow after them. Vince looked after them, a questioning look in his eyes, causing Jesse to motion for him to follow. They ended up outside, where Leon scanned the crowds for people.

"I coulda swore they came out here," Leon muttered, now just about audible.

"What the hell? We just got in there, why are you draggin' me back out here already?" Vince moaned, finishing off the rest of his beer and using the floor as a garbage can for his bottle.

"Jesse!" Came a scream through the crowd. He whirled around and Jessica was stood before him, a huge smile on her face. "Oh my gosh, as if you're here! It's like fate or something, we've met twice in the same day, how weird is that? Not that I'm into all that stuff, ya know? But there's gotta be some reason we keep finding each other, huh?"

Leon jabbed Jesse in the ribs, giving him a look that indicated they should be promptly introduced. "Oh, uh, Jess, these are my friends – Leon and Vince."

"Nice to meetcha," Jessica replied, flashing them both a huge smile. Leon returned it, charmingly, while Vince looked slightly disturbed by her and how much she had to say. "My friends are over there if you wanna join us?"

"That would be awesome," Leon said, slinging his arm around Jesse and following the tiny girl. She stopped before two other girls sat at a table, one of whom Jesse recognised as Hannah. Both of them were smoking and Vince took this as his cue to take out his own cigarette.

"Okay, Jesse, you met Hannah earlier, yeah?"

"Hi," Hannah smiled.

"Well, this is Tilda, we were going to meet her when we saw you earlier." Jessica pointed to the other, dark haired, girl. She had one arm crossed across her chest and the other holding a cigarette to her mouth, eyes wary of the new people that her friend had brought over.

"Hey," she said, in a sultry voice.

"And this is Leon and Vince." Jessica pointed to them both respectively, looking eager.

"You got a light?" Vince asked, gruffly, cigarette poised between his lips. Hannah passed him one and he was immediately engulfed in smoke. He passed it back to her with an appreciative nod. Leon pulled up his own chair from another table, the others following suit.

"So, where are you guys staying? Are you on holiday or do you live here?" Jessica rambled on. "We're here for the summer. Hannah's aunt owns loads of places around the country and stuff and she's letting us stay in one like ten minutes away, which is pretty cool."

"Oh yeah? We've got a place just down the road. Been living there for about six, maybe seven, months," explained Leon, lapping up the attention that Jessica was so enthusiastic to provide.

"Oh wow, you live here? That must be amazing. I love it here, the beach is so nice and the weather is the best. I've got tan lines already, look," she said, pulling her t-shirt off one shoulder to show a thin white line where her bikini strap obviously belonged. "And we've only been here like four days, it's intense. So what do you guys do here?"

"Me and the genius here work in a garage in town and -" Leon began.

"You're a genius?" She enquired, looking pointedly at Jesse with a strange smile on her face. "And you work on cars?"

"Yeah," Jesse nodded. "I like 'em." He certainly wasn't ashamed about the route his career had taken, even if everything else was messed up. He was a good mechanic and he knew it. The team had always called him 'genius' or 'mad scientist' because he could hold a lot of information about cars in his head. There was something about them that was so perfect. How they fit together and how they worked, there was only one way to fix a car and that made things easier for him. It was like math – there is only one answer but once you know the formula you can work out any problem. Unfortunately, that rule just didn't apply to life and tended to perplex Jesse at times.

His father was a mechanic. Before he had gone to prison, he had taught Jesse everything he knew about cars. Jesse didn't know it, but he had far surpassed his father on the knowledge front. He constantly had his head stuck in a car magazine, learning about the newest parts and freshest imports. He had even managed to salvage the wreck of the Jetta after months of work. Leon had had it towed to a holding facility while Jesse was in the hospital and when they made the big move to Mexico, they brought it with them. Now, it sat comfortably in the garage, ready to be taken for a spin any time. But Jesse wanted to let it wait until his father was out of prison now. He hadn't dared drive it since everything happened.

"Wow, that's cool." Jessica nodded back, "What do you do Vince?"

Vince looked up from his cigarette, blinking and seemingly taken aback by her question. "I teach guitar."

"Really? That's so cool. I wish I could play guitar but I'm not much good with stuff like that really."

Vince half smiled at her, flicking his cigarette butt off to one side. Leon stood up, "Can I get you ladies a drink?"

"We're drinking mojito's," Jessica replied.

"Cool. Stay here, we'll be back in a sec," Leon replied. "Gimme a hand, bro?" He murmured to Vince, who followed begrudgingly.

"You're gonna make me pay, aren't you?" Vince grumbled.

Jesse turned back to the girls, all three of them peering at him with curious eyes. "So..." He began.

"Your friends seem nice," Jessica said, while Hannah lit a fresh cigarette along with Tilda's. "Whereabouts are you from?"

"Los Angeles. San Diego originally. You?"

"I'm from Oklahoma but Hannah and Tilda are both from New York," nodded Jessica.

"Cool."

"So, how come you moved here Jesse?" Jessica asked.

"Urm, we had some problems back home," Jesse replied, uncomfortably rubbing at his face and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh, that's too bad. But at least you got to come here, I love it. If I had the guts to move here it would be totally awesome but I think I'd miss my family too much. Gosh, I miss them already. But seriously, it's really amazing that you live here with your friends, that must be lots of fun."

"Yeah, the guys are cool," he nodded in response.

Leon and Vince eventually found their way back out to the table, drinks in hand. "Mojito's for the ladies," Leon smiled, charmingly, passing around the cocktails. He passed Jesse another Corona and then passed around six shot glasses. "And shots of some of the finest Samuel Buca for everyone."

"Awesome!" Jessica exclaimed. They each downed their shots, slamming the glasses on the table. "My chest feels all warm now," she added, taking a sip of her cocktail.

Jesse sat back in his chair, taking the occasional swig of his beer. Jessica chatted away happily at him while he gave the according answers to her questions – did he have any brothers or sisters? (No, but Leon and Vince were close enough) How long had he been working on cars? (As long as he could remember) Had he ever had a near-death experience? (Yes...But he wasn't going to give her the details. Thankfully she let that one slide and carried on rambling.) There was something about her that enticed Jesse. She had a delightful way of appearing non-judgemental, as though she were able to see the good in anyone.

Although she said a lot – and he had once thought that Mia was a chatterbox – she just had a certain something that made Jesse want to listen to her all night. He occasionally tuned out from the specifics and mainly just listened to her voice, pixie-like. In a way, she sounded like the engine of a car, humming away blissfully. It was extremely calming and he liked it.

"Come on then ladies, drink up! Let's go dance," Leon exclaimed, chugging the last of his beer and discarding the bottle on the table.

"Oh yeah! I can't believe how long we've been out here!" Jessica giggled, a gurgling sound coming from her glass as she slurped the rest of the concoction down through her straw. The six of them weaved through the plethora of bodies into the club, making their way to the dance floor as a new track started. It was some kind of Spanish rock song but it had a good bass line, resulting in a perfect dance tune. Vince, however, Jesse noticed, had hastily gone to the bar. He didn't 'do' dancing, as he so often reminded them, which made Jesse smile a little. At least it meant he didn't have to wait at the bar and would no doubt have a cold one to look forward to soon enough.

The song changed to something they all recognised, resulting in them all screaming along - unheard, due to the extreme loudness already coming from the speakers - and dancing happily. Laughing, as the song ended, they managed to make their way to Vince who was standing by with six Coronas (because Mojito's were 'girly' drinks) and six more shots. He indicated that the drinks were to be passed around accordingly and then motioned that he was going for another smoke.

At 3am, it was time for Black Magic to shut its doors to the faithful patrons for the night. Jesse walked with Jessica, while Leon took the lead with Tilda and Hannah. Over the course of the night, Vince had gone missing somewhere. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence and probably meant he had either bailed to go home, or found a girl for the night and would show up in the morning a little less grumpy than usual.

"Oh my gosh, now that we've come back outside I feel so much more drunk than I did when we were inside!" Jessica fanned herself with her hand, twirling her hair back into a bun and holding it there with her hand.

"Yeah, me too," Jesse replied. A stupid grin worked its way onto his face but it wouldn't go away so he stopped fighting with it.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked, gently prodding his arm.

"Nothin'."

"You're a shitty liar," she giggled.

"Yeaaaaah," Jesse agreed, giggling along with her. Not looking where she was going, Jessica tripped and fell backwards. After a brief moment of shock, she burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh my God!" Exclaimed Jesse, laughing heartily and crouching down next to her.

"I can't breathe!" She said, through her chuckles. "That really hurt!"

"That was so funny," Jesse added, trying to calm himself down. "You okay?"

"I think so," she replied, through her hiccuping laughs.

"What happened?" Tilda asked, walking back towards them.

"I fell down!"

"I can see that, babe. You're such a clutz." Shaking her head, Tilda crouched beside the two of them. "Can you get up?"

"Let's see." Jesse held his hand out for her, pulling her to her feet only for her to squeal in pain. "Oh, that hurts. I think I twisted my ankle or something." Doubled over, she touched her ankle tentatively and winced. Standing up straight, she cleared her throat and attempted a couple of steps but stumbled.

Jesse caught her before she fell again, "Whoa there."

She giggled again, "Oops."

"C'mon," Jesse said, moving in front of her. He bent down slightly, "Hop on."

"Are you sure? I'm pretty heavy."

He looked back at her in disbelief. She was smaller than him and almost too skinny for her frame. "Are you kiddin'? Just do it."

"Um, okay," she said, looking unsure at Tilda, who shrugged.

"He's offering you a free ride, Jess," she said.

Jessica put her hands carefully on his shoulders and hopped up. Jesse held her with ease, jostling her slightly so that she was easier to carry. "See? Stronger than I look."

"Well, we're not too far from our place now. Just tell me if I'm hurting you."

They continued their walk and finally caught up with Leon and Hannah back at the girls summer home. The two of them were unaware of what had happened, and were bemused by the sight they were introduced to.

"I hope you're charging her full fare, Jess," quipped Leon.

"I fell over and hurt my ankle so Jesse offered to carry me home. I told you chivalry wasn't dead ladies." Jessica grinned, while Hannah unlocked the door and led everyone to the living area.

With Jessica carefully placed on the sofa, Tilda got some ice for her ankle. "Thank you very much, noble steed. I hope to return the favour as soon as my foot's better."

"Cool, I'll be saving some gas money soon then."

"We're having a barbecue tomorrow if you guys are game? You can bring the fuzzy bear guy with you too, I imagine he's not the one to pass on free food," Jessica smiled, while Tilda put a pillow beneath her ankle and plopped the bag of ice on top.

"Sounds like a plan," Leon answered, slinging his arm around Jesse's shoulders. "What time should we be here?"

"Urm, around 4?" Hannah nodded from her spot sitting cross-legged on the table.

"We'll see you then. Thank you for a delightful evening ladies," Leon said, flashing his charming smile.

"Hope your foot feels better," Jesse added.

"Thank you!"

"See you tomorrow."

Three 'bye's' followed them out of the door as they made their way home. "Well, I'd say that was a successful night," Leon said.

"Yeah."

"You gonna go for the little pixie girl?"

Jesse blushed slightly, "Shut up."

"I knew it!"

"Whatever man. Which one are you planning on pursuing?"

"Well, I was gonna go for the angry one 'cause I kinda like that in a girl but then I got talking to Hannah and she seems...nice. So, maybe I'll just see how that one goes."

Jesse shook his head, whilst smiling slightly. "Where do you reckon Vince got to?"

"My guess he's on the couch, snoring away. Let's see..." Leon answered, as they walked down the small path that led to their front door. He opened the door, and sure enough, loud snores could be heard from the next room. "Told you."

"Let's just leave him there, I don't wanna get punched in the stomach again like last time."

"That was so funny," Leon chuckled, tossing the keys on the side after locking the door behind them. They silently made their way upstairs and to their respective rooms, calling a half-hearted 'night' to each other.

Jesse kicked off his shoes and slipped out of his clothes until he was just in his boxers. He collapsed onto the bed, the ceiling fan above him cooling his hot skin. He sighed, a smile creeping onto his lips as he fell asleep with thoughts of the little pixie girl.