Sometimes Selling Out Is Giving In

Chapter 1

All the sick lines
And the words you said
How can you ask me to just forget?
Just don't ask me to just forget

Serenity's bike came to a halt at the finish line, second place. The crowd roared for the winner, Kai Jung, as the smell of burning rubber ebbed, she couldn't be more eager to get out of there.

Kai waved at her mockingly and she didn't react. Keeping your cool is vital in this buisness, and she was best known for it.

The festivities carried on from there, the trophies and medals were handed out and Serenity tried her best to ignore what was coming once she got back to the garage.

After standing on the podium for pictures the duellist's retreated to the change rooms.

"Wheeler, good race." Kai said the minute they were out of the public eye.

"Yes, for you." Serenity started walking faster as so did Kai.

"What did you do to my bike?" She asked, keeping the same pace.

"What are you talking about, Wheeler?" Kai smirked, that knowing smirk he used last time he undid a screw on her back wheel back in her first race. At least then she had still managed to win.

Since then she had taken great caution in over-looking her bike before racing, but when her front wheel's rubber wore down in the last lap she knew something was up. Though she had to admit it was a smart move, a flat spot on a rubber wheel was nearly impossible to detect. What she wanted to know was how Kai managed to get into her garage.

"My front wheel, Kai, the rubber wore down. But I got new wheels were put on last night. How'd you manage to get into my garage?" Serenity kept her calm complex, how she did this amazed Kai.

"I'm offended you'd accuse me of that, Wheeler." Kai walked ahead of her and cut her off; Serenity looked up at him with that signature expression.

"I don't know how you did it, Kai, but I know you did." She put a hand on his chest and shoved him out of the way, he moved voluntarily.

"You have no proof, Wheeler. To the press and your employers, you're a failure." He spat, Serenity walked into the locker room and let go of a breathe she didn't know she was holding.

She changed into jeans and a t-shirt after stuffing her racing attire into her duffel bag. Then she headed out to the parking lot where Yugi was waiting for her by the truck and bike trailer. He must've noticed how annoyed she looked.

"Okay, what happened?" He asked with a slight smile, Serenity shook her head indicating she didn't want to talk about it. Yugi got the hint and held out his hand, gesturing for her to hand over the duffel bag. She did and got into the passenger's seat of the car.

Yugi tossed the bag into the trailer and got in the car, put the keys in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. He noticed Serenity was being really quiet.

"I hate to bring this up, but what happened out there?" Yugi asked after a few minutes of driving.

"The rubber on my front wheel was thinned out." Serenity was trying to cut this conversation down to as few words as possible.

"That's never stopped you before." Yugi replied.

"Yug, to the metal. I had a flat spot, and I just got new wheels last night." Yugi ground his teeth; he was worried for Serenity now.

"It was Kai, wasn't it?" Serenity nodded.

"And he pointed out I have no proof, which is true. And to the public and my employers I'm a failure." She was biting her lip.

"He was right about that too." She finished, and that's when they pulled up to the garage.

"We're going to go in there and tell them what happened." Yugi said in a comforting yet absolute tone.

"And when that doesn't work?" Serenity was hopeless; she'd been that way since she was forced into Turbo-Duelling.

"Then I'm going to be there." With that Yugi took the keys and got out of the car, Serenity followed.

Serenity dreaded every time they drove up to this damned garage. Well, they called it a garage but it was really a old warehouse that used to be act as drug pick-up.

Her employers met her inside of the second docking bay, after every race, once a week.

"Miss Wheeler, I would love to know why today's race was a failure." Boss Wang said. He was surrounded by four body guards, which was odd because he usually never had any protection with him during these meetings. Yugi knew it was for intimidation purposes.

"My bike was rigged." Serenity replied, unable to look into Mr. Wang's eyes. He laughed a bitter laugh.

"That's low, Miss Wheeler. Especially for you." He said in a stiff tone, he was angry. Yugi knew this and took a slight step beside Serenity.

"You saw the race; why else would my wheel give out like that?" She used a gentle voice, almost suggestive. It was a small reminder to Yugi on how really submissive she was.

"I would like to know the same thing!" Mr. Wang screamed, Serenity flinched.

"One more race like this, Miss Wheeler and we are done! Did you forget why you are doing this in the first place?" He continued to scream at Serenity, who kept calm but was shaking slightly.

"I honestly thought you weren't like your father, Serenity. He came into this for you, for the money to give you a better life! But he never came through with his promise and what did he do with the money, Serenity? What did he do?" Yugi was getting angry, Mr. Wang had said some hurtful things but this was the worst by far.

"WHAT DID HE DO?" Mr. Wang's face was red.

"He left because he knew he couldn't pay you back." She whispered, her eyes were closed tight.

"You're brother left too, didn't he? You seem to have a whole family of failures." Then that was too much.

"MY BROTHER IS NOT A FAILURE!" Serenity screamed, the room went silent.

"I'm going to win the championship, and you're going to leave my friends alone." Serenity honed her neutral complex and turned away, Yugi following, but a guard stood in front of her.

"Who's to know you'll leave and never come back?" Mr. Wang asked, Serenity spun around and looked at Mr. Wang angrily.

"Because you've threatened the lives of my friends and my mother, who by the way I haven't seen for four years because she thinks I abandoned her. I am a decent enough person to care about my friends." Serenity's voice was rising slowly, not nearly to the extent she was currently at.

Yugi couldn't hold it in anymore, he took Serenity's hand and bravely walked out of the loading deck, and surprisingly enough, they let them go.

Authors Note: Thanks for the two reviews I've received, I swear my heart jumped a little. Thanks so much!