Hi everybody! zzz589zzz here!

I am SO sorry that I haven't updated this in a long time! I missed it! But now that school has finally settled out and I've gotten a better computer, updating is going to be a LOT easier. But before I go on I want to thank the people who have reviewed this story so far.

xROXASxUCHIHAx, Choco3Symphony, Lang Su and Guest thank you so much for your reviews! I probably wouldn't have continued this story if it wasn't for your comments! This chapter is for you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own IGPX or any of its characters. I do claim Team Berserker and its members as my own creations though.

Chapter 4

A Step in the Wrong Direction

"Dammit!" Juliet St. Marc cried as she slammed her fist into the Team Berserker locker room wall. "What the hell?! We couldn't even touch them!" she shouted as she paced back and forth in front of her two concerned teammates. Carmen and Aiden exchanged nervous glances before Carmen stepped forward into Juliet's path.

"Juliet, mon ami, you need to calm down," she said softly as Juliet looked up at her with wild eyes.

"Calm down? Calm down?! Carmen, they destroyed us! We didn't even have time to blink before they whipped the floor with us!" Juliet cried, her outburst surprising both Carmen and Aiden. "All of that damn training did nothing! We're still a pathetic, second grade team!" she said before turning away from the two of them, her expression a cross between anger and shame. Her two teammates mimicked her sudden silence as they all reflected on their very recent defeat by Team Satomi. Before any of the three could break the depressing silence, the doors to the locker room slid open as Tony, Boku and Maria stepped into the room.

"What the hell was that?" Tony said harshly, completely disregarding the sullen mood in the locker room. "That had to be the most pathetic race I've ever seen, and I've seen a good number of them. You three idiots didn't stand a chance," he barked as the three Team Berserker pilots winced at his tone. "And you," Tony snapped as he brushed past Aiden and Carmen and put a hand on Juliet's shoulder, spinning her around to face him. "What the hell were you doing out there? You completely froze in front of Jin!" he said. Juliet glared down at her shoes as frustrated tears began pooling in her eyes. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Tony said. Juliet clenched her fists at her side before her head snapped up to look at him.

"Shut up you bastard!" she cried as she reached out and shoved the couch away from her. "You don't know what you're talking about! We may have raced poorly today, but you were a pretty damn pathetic couch yourself!" she snapped, Tony blinking down at her in shock. "Why don't you take your criticism and shove it somewhere else?! Cause I don't want to hear it!" Juliet said before she pushed past him and rushed out of the locker room, nearly running into Mr. Zeker as she ran away from her team. The old team owner frowned slightly at her retreating figure before turning to face the rest of the shame faced team.

"We need to talk," he said calmly before stepping in and shutting the locker room door.

-IGPX-

"Tony, that bastard," Juliet muttered as she looked out at the race tracks from the pilots' private viewing area. After her confrontation with her coach, she'd escaped to the only place in the IGPX building that she knew he couldn't come into. With a slight sigh, she turned and sat herself down on a bench in front of the large glass windows that over looked the race track.

'What the hell happened today?' she thought as she let her face drop into her hands. 'Why did I freeze up in front of Takeshi?' Looking back at the race, she couldn't even remember getting attacked by the other forward.

"We've got this race in the bag!" Juliet shouted over the intercom as Team Berserker was matching Team Satomi move for move in the second lap of the race.

"Don't get too cocky Juliet, they could still bounce back," Tony said from the team viewing box, Juliet shrugging off his comment as she blocked another one of Takeshi's attacks.

"Oh please, what could go wrong?" Juliet scoffed as she turned to face Takeshi again. As she moved in for her own attack, she felt her mech start to slow down. 'What?! What the hell's going on?' she thought as she could barely move her mech's arms. Seeing the opening, Takeshi wasted no time as he charged forward, taking out Juliet's machine in one, carefully aimed blow.

"No! Dammit!" Juliet cried as she saw both Carmen and Aiden's mechs fall victim to the same fate as Team Satomi raced off to take the finish.

"Why did our machines slow down?" Juliet groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. 'Maybe there was something wrong with the mechs?' she thought biting her thumb lightly in thought before jumping up from her seat. "I should run down and check," she said turning away from the view to jump in surprise at the figure standing behind her. Cunningham stood behind her with a neutral expression on his face.

"And here I thought you'd never notice I was here," he commented lightly as he walked over to Juliet, ignoring her suddenly tense posture at his appearance. Cunningham walked over to stand beside her as he looked out at the view of the tracks that Juliet was about to leave behind. There was a moment of silence before she glanced sideways at him.

"Was there something you wanted Cunningham, sir?" she asked, adding the 'sir' as an afterthought. They stood in silence for a moment before Cunningham replied, never taking his eyes off of the tracks.

"That was some race today," he said, Juliet flinching slightly at his amused tone. "I don't think I've ever seen three mechs go down so quickly, and all at the same time too," Cunningham commented before he turned his head to glance down at Juliet. The aforementioned girl turned her face away from his gaze, choosing to glare down at the floor instead.

"I don't need this right now Cunningham, especially from you," she murmured, ignoring the tears of shame that were stinging her eyes. Neither pilot made a sound, electing instead to stand in the painful silence that followed.

'Please, I don't think I can stand to hear any more insults, especially not from this jerk,' Juliet thought, trying not to glance up at the Velshtein forward, afraid of meeting his gaze. She was about to leave and give up hope on the conversation before she heard the sound of keys jingling next to her ear.

"How about a ride?" Cunningham said casually, the surprising statement causing Juliet to look up at him in shock. The other forward looked down at her with an amused expression as he held the keys to his car up between them. "I can take you home, and we can talk about what happened today. Like civilized people," he said, adding the last part in with a teasing tone.

In the near future, Juliet would blame the events that followed that night on a number of things. Maybe it was because she'd been so wiped out from the race that she could no longer think straight. Or maybe it was because she didn't have the nerve to go back and face her teammates after the way she'd behaved. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because she wanted to seek comfort from the arrogant, aggravating pilot who's blue eyes twinkled with amusement and just a hint of hope and sympathy.

But none of that mattered in the present; because for whatever reason, Juliet said yes.

-IGPX-

Carmen couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this downhearted. She'd failed her team today, failed as a defender. She hadn't been able to even move as she'd watched her two best friends and teammates fall victim to Team Satomi's attacks.

'And now Antonio is raging up a storm with Mr. Zeker and ma chere Juliet is heartbroken,' she thought with a sigh as she stepped out of the IGPX main building, having changed out of her casual after-race outfit into a slim fitted aqua blue dress and black heels. She stood outside the building and checked the time on her phone, sighing as she watched the digital clock blink closer and closer to 8:00 pm.

'He's not coming, not after the way I raced today,' she thought with a sighed as she put her phone back into her purse and turned to walk away from the building towards her apartment. Before she could get any further, a black sports car pulled up next to the curb in front of her.

"Carmen," Dew said as he stepped out of the car with a curious frown on his face. "Where are you going? Do you not want to have dinner?" he asked as he shut the car door and walked around it over to her.

"Dew," Carmen breathed, letting the shock of seeing him flow out of her as he stood in front of her. The Velshtein defender smiled warmly and took her hands in his.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked gently as he took a step closer to her. Carmen didn't know what to say to the man before her. She knew when she'd first laid eyes on the Velshtein defender at the IGPX opening dinner party that he was something special, but Carmen had always thought that racing had always been a Velshtein's first love. Dew only watched patiently as she attempted to form those words with her lips.

"I thought that after today's terrible race that you wouldn't want to have dinner anymore," she finally managed, fresh tears pooling in her eyes at the thought of Dew being upset with her. The aforementioned defender blinked at her before shaking his head with a small smile.

"Oh Carmen, dearest Carmen, you are far more important than some race," Dew said softly as he placed both his hands on her cheeks and tilted her head up so that he could look her in the eyes. "I would hate to think that I have ever made you think otherwise," he said smiling warmly at her surprised expression.

"Do you really mean that mon amour?" Carmen whispered as a smile spread across her face. Pleased by her reaction, Drew tilted her head to the side lightly to plant a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Always," he said, proud of the light blush that colored the female defender's cheeks. "Come on my dear, let's go enjoy our dinner," Dew said reaching over to open the passenger car door for her. Carmen beamed at his display of chivalry before releasing his hands and slipping into the car for a night of relaxation with the Velshtein defender.

-IGPX-

"Oh man, what am I going to do?" Aiden sighed as he paced back and forth in the hallway outside the locker room. Things had gone from bad to worse in the after-race meeting; Tony actually stormed out in the middle of Mr. Zeker's 'winning-isn't-everything' speech.

"The whole teams breaking apart over this one race," Aiden muttered as he stopped pacing in front of a vending machine in the hall. "I need a soda, something cool to clear my head," he said taking out some loose changed. After counting out the right amount of change, Aiden inserted it into the vending machine and pressed the button for a cola. After taking the soda out of the compartment, he snapped the can open and took a sip of the cola.

"Man that's good," Aiden sighed as he turned to leave the hallway, taking another swing of his soda as he rounded the corner and crashed into a figure that was rushing by.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" a feminine voice gasped as Aiden blinked down at the girl, before blinking in surprise.

"Jesse? Jesse Martin?" he said as he reached out to help the brown haired girl to her feet. Jesse snapped her head up in surprise before beaming up at the Team Berserker midfielder.

"Aiden! It's really you!" she cried as she stood up far too quickly, nearly crashing into Aiden's chest. The aforementioned pilot chuckled lightly at her enthusiasm as he placed his free hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Easy Jesse, we don't want you getting hurt now love," he smiled down at her, causing a light blush to spread across Jesse's cheeks. "I haven't seen you since high school, how have you been? I see you still get horribly red when I call you love," Aiden teased as Jesse laughed.

"Yeah I know! It's great to see you again!" Jesse smiled as the two continued to walk down the hall in the direction Jesse had originally been walking. "Congratulations by the way. I can't believe you went from being our classes Valedictorian to becoming a pilot. Your team is even in the IG-1," she said. "That's so cool." Aiden laughed lightly at her enthusiasm as he scratched his cheek nervously.

"Yeah, it is pretty cool I guess," he chuckled as he took a sip of his soda. "So why are you here? You aren't a pilot are you?" he asked after swallowing his drink, glancing down at her.

"Oh! I work as Miss Satomi's assistant and help out the team," Jesse smiled as Aiden blinked down at her before sighing sadly. Jesse's smile was quickly replaced by a concerned frown at his reaction to her news. "Aiden? What's wrong?" she asked placing a hand on his arm to get his attention. The midfielder blinked before looking down at her.

"It's nothing Jesse," he said gently. "But after that loss hearing the name Satomi is kind of, spirit crushing, I guess," he sighed, not catching Jesse's thoughtful expression as she pulled them to a stop in front of an office door in the IGPX building. "Jesse? What is it?" Aiden asked before jumping in surprise as his old classmate clapped her hands together.

"Why don't we grab something to eat?" she smiled up at him, only increasing Aiden's confusion. "I just need to put a few papers away and grab my bag. What do you say?" Jesse said with a hopeful expression. Aiden's confused expression quickly slipped into a boyish grin.

"Sure Jesse, I'd love them," he said as he watched the Satomi employee light up as if it were Christmas.

"Great!" Jesse cheered. "Just wait here while I go finish up," she said rushing into the office door they'd stopped at. Aiden watched her go, looking far too happy for a pilot who'd just lost a major race.

-IGPX-

"You know, when I said talk like civilized people, I really did mean the part about talking," Cunningham commented lightly as the two pilots drove in silence. Juliet sat next to him in the passenger seat, choosing to stare out at the city lights instead of engaging the IGPX veteran in conversation. Cunningham resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her childish behavior as he turned his attention back to the road in front of them.

'It's not that I don't want to talk to you,' Juliet thought as she glanced sideways at Cunningham every few seconds. 'I just don't know what to say to you,' she thought before letting out a sigh. Cunningham resisted the urge to smirk at her expression as they drove in silence for a few more moments before he spoke up again.

"I guess if you're going to react this way to one loss then you really aren't worth my efforts as a pilot," he said arrogantly, pretending not to notice the way Juliet twitched in irritation. The Team Berserker forward slammed her hand against the window before turning to glare at Cunningham.

"Dammit you don't know a thing about me you bastard!" she growled glaring at him. "I'm not quiet because of the race! I'm quiet because you are so freaking frustrating!" she snapped as the continued to glare at Cunningham, who kept his eyes on the road before smirking as he glanced over at her.

"So I have to insult you to get your attention," he commented lightly, ignoring Juliet's confused expression. "But at least you said something, I thought you'd never speak up," Cunningham said as Juliet blinked at her before sighing and sitting back in her chair.

"Sometimes you are such a jerk," she muttered turning to look out the window again.

"Only sometimes?" Cunningham said with mock astonishment. "I must be losing my touch," he smirked as the corner of Juliet's twitched up slightly at Cunningham's humor. "Well well, that almost looks like a smile," Cunningham said glancing over at her as he eased the car to a stop at a red light.

"You are so weird," Juliet sighed before she reached forward and turned the radio on, searching for the report on the latest races. As if reading her mind, Cunningham reached over and gently brushed her hand out of the way.

"Here, I know the station by heart," he said, Juliet resisted the urge to blush at the feeling of their fingers touching.

"Yeah okay, whatever," she mumbled looking out the window as Cunningham turned the dial to the right station, Benjamin Bright's voice blaring over the radio.

"And that's all for the Satomi-Berserker race! In related news, Team Edgeraid was forced to forfeit their match against Team Sledge Mamma earlier today because Team Edgeraid's midfielder Bella Demarco was attacked before the race and has been hospitalized because of the serious injuries she sustained. I'm Benjamin Bright and I'm here to keep you updated on any news regarding the IG-1 and its teams!"

Juliet and Cunningham stared at the radio in shock, both failing to notice that the red light had turned to green before they heard a storm of honking coming from the cars behind them. Cunningham wasted no time as he stepped on the gas pedal, driving past the light without a second thought, Juliet reaching forward to switch the radio off.

After a moment of silence, Juliet turned her attention away from the radio towards the tense Team Velshtein forward.

"Cunningham?" she mumbled after a moment, snapping the pilot out of his silence as he glanced over at her.

"Yes Juliet?" Cunningham said, catching the fearful look in the younger pilot's eyes. Juliet licked her lips nervously before glancing up at him.

"What's going on? Why would someone attack an IG-1 pilot?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly at the thought of being attack. Cunningham studied her expression for a few moments before turning her gaze back to the road ahead of them.

"I don't know Juliet, but I'm going to find out," he said calmly as he drove down the dark, city roads.

To. Be. Continued.

So things are starting to get interesting! Did any of you see the idea of Aiden and Jesse already knowing each other coming, cause even I didn't, and I'm the author!

Oh! And in case any of you are curious about the pilots' ages and nationalities, Juliet is 18 and she's American. Aiden is 19 and he's British, although he studied in the US which is how he met Jesse. And Carmen is 21 and French, in case you guys couldn't already tell that.

Also I've noticed there was only one vote in the poll I put up, thank you singular voter whoever you are! I'll wait until I upload the next chapter before I write a chapter in the perspective of the most popular forward so you guys better get voting!

That's all for now I guess! Read and review!

Bye!

zzz589zzz