Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and The Furious or its characters. No copyright infringement intended. This fictitious work is for entertainment purposes only.
Author's Note: This chapter runs a little long. I was tweaking it and got carried away, and couldn't stop writing, but hopefully it's still good. And I would like to thank those who have continuously reviewed each chapter. The feedback is much appreciated and is the fuel that keeps this fic alive, so thanks, and I hope you continue to.
Letty woke from her restless slumber feeling angry at her brain. Throughout the night it periodically flustered her body's equilibrium with thoughts of Dom. She hated these foreign feelings because she didn't quite understand them, or why they abruptly intensified. Seeing his arms and tongue entwined with other girls only sparked more curious, overly-friendly thoughts of him. She breathed heavily at not being able to discard them and forced her eyes to adjust on the clock sitting on her nightstand. 7:45AM. Letty closed her eyes only to open then with a start and quickly sit upright.
She was late for school. "Shit," she breathed out.
Letty ran downstairs to bombard her mother with questions of "Why didn't you wake me up?" She was already in hot water with the principal; the last thing she need was the school breathing down her neck for showing up late – or worse her mother. Before her lips could utter any questions her mother answered for her.
"You don't have school today," she announced without looking up from the morning newspaper.
"Oh," Letty said hesitantly.
"Yeah, the office called this morning and said they added a three day suspension to your punishment," she added.
Letty winced. She knew her mother's cool, calm, and collected demeanor would soon dissipate.
"Ma-"she began.
Her mother swiftly folded the newspaper and slammed it on the table, causing Letty to flinch. "No, I don't wanna hear your excuses, Leticia. I didn't raise you to misbehave like this, to fight with people at school. You better get your act together, and soon."
Letty remained silent as her mother unleashed her frustration and disappointment. It was in moments like this where she missed her father. Before Los Angeles, she could always count on him to swoop in and save her from any disciplinary action from her mother. No matter how guilty Letty was, her father always took her side and defended her like she was exempt from doing any wrong. He understood his daughter more than anything else in the world. Her motto as a child was "when mommy says no, daddy says yes." If her father were here, he wouldn't be grounding her, but saying, "That's my girl" and showing her further techniques on how to physically defend herself in a fight.
A broad sweet smile spread across Letty's face as she remembered the good old days that included her father.
"Leticia, this is not funny!" Her mother scolded.
"Sorry," Letty muttered, trying to turn the corners of her mouth back down.
"Since you think this is so funny, you're grounded, and no more going to Anthony's car garage."
Letty threw her hands up. "Are you kidding me? For how long?" She questioned.
"Until I say so," she said sternly. "And remember that I said you're grounded, so you better not set foot outside this house while I'm gone." She ignored Letty's pleas and heavy sighs as she gathered her things and headed out the door to work.
Letty plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs and viciously bit into a pop tart. The garage was her sanctuary. Letty irrevocably loved that car shops were equipped with every tool imaginable and intricate, immaculate engine parts. Car garages were devoid of inoperable problems, for Letty it didn't get any better than that. She hated how her mother knew the exact things to take away to make her miserable. Sometimes she resented her mother for it. Letty could never understand why her mother never took to the time to hear side of things – like her father did – or why she never tried to look at things from her point of view. It was exhausting just thinking about it.
After her light breakfast Letty trudged upstairs for a quick shower. She tied her hair up into a loose bun and stepped under the warm spray of water, trying to wash away all her current frustrations. The warmth from the water was so relaxing she could have stayed in there all day. Enjoying the soothing aroma Letty reluctantly stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and padded slowly across the bathroom tile and into her room.
As she opened the top drawer to retrieve a pair of cropped, grey sweatpants, her eyes peered out the window to find Dom and Vince hauling things out through the side door of their house. It made her happy to know she wasn't the only one who got suspended from school. And knowing they would never lift a finger to clean, she could tell Anthony enforced his own punished on them as well.
Lettly quickly put on the necessary undergarments, slipped into her cropped sweats and black tank top. She made her way back downstairs and trekked across the linoleum floor of the kitchen to get a bag of cheddar cheese popcorn. On her way out the front door she slipped on a worn out pair of white flip flops and walked over to the Torettos.
Vince dropped one of the dust covered boxes onto the ground and looked up to see who the nearing footsteps belonged to. "What's up Letty? I see you got suspended too."
"Yep, and I see you too have started a maid cleaning service," She replied with a smirk on her face.
Dom emerged from the side door and gave Letty the middle finger. "You get off easy or what?" He asked.
"I wish. My mom grounded me, and she said I'm not allowed at DT until 'she says so'," She answered shaking her head.
"Our parents think alike, because I got the same punishment."
"What are you doing outside if you're grounded," Vince asked. "You know you're mom is gonna find out you came over here."
Letty shrugged her shoulders. She didn't really care. "Eh, the way I see it as long as my feet stay 'grounded' I'm good. See," she said as she padded her feet on the ground," they're grounded."
Vince laughed. "You're such a smart ass Letty. I think that's why we get along so well."
Dom shook his head in amusement. "Letty, you're always breaking the rules, aren't you?"
"Me? Never. I simply bend the rules without breaking them. It's a gift really," She explained.
"You're a wild one Let," Dom said through his laughter.
"Yeah, so where's Mia?"
"At school, like a goodie-good. Mia would flip out if she missed a day of school," Vince answered.
"Yeah, that's true, she would. So what are you guys doing with all this stuff?" She asked as she ripped open her bag of popcorn.
Dom sighed heavily. "As punishment my dad has us cleaning out the basement."
Letty walked over and peeked through the open side door. She whistled. "Good luck with clearing that stuff out. It's gonna take days."
"Thanks for the reminding us," Vince grunted out.
"You could be a good ol' pal and help out us. We'll get done faster," Dom suggested.
Letty arched one eyebrow at Dom. "Ha. I'll help by supervising, but no way am I cleaning up that mess."
Dom lightly nudged Letty on her side before entering the basement to retrieve more dust covered boxes and moth eaten furniture. "You suck," he whispered under his breath.
Letty giggled in response and walked over to sit on an old coffee table.
"Well if you aint gonna help then at least share your snacks," Vince stated as he snatched Letty's popcorn and poured some in his mouth. He handed her back the bag and returned to helping Dom clear out the basement.
"Fat ass," Letty yelled at Vince as she looked at her half eaten bag.
Dom eventually convinced Letty to help out by pulling the best friend and family card. At least to his knowledge, but the real reason for agreeing was his persuasive tone that seemed to vibrate from his chest. Dom's voice was somewhat changing, sounding slightly more baritone, and Letty immediately took notice. There were certain words or times when his tone would change causing her spine to shudder pleasantly. It was a sound that made all girls go weak.
A third set of hands definitely helped Dom and Vince. It moved things along and added to the playful banter. Much to their delight, the clutter that occupied the basement seemed to evaporate at a faster pace. Soon after, they started an assembly line; Dom brought out the boxes, Letty sorted junk from valuables, and Vince tossed the trash in the garbage. They finally finished by early afternoon and flopped down on the porch bench.
"Man, we should call the child labor board on my dad," Dom said as he wiped sweat from his forehead.
"You both should take a shower, you stink," Letty blurted out as she crinkled her nose.
Vince snorted. "You don't smell any better."
"You smell like ass V. Seriously, smell your pit," Letty ordered. "Dom, you smell like a dirty puppy."
Dom took a whiff of his scent. "Smells like roses to me," he said sarcastically.
Vince smelled his underarm and winced in pain. "Well I'll be damned. I do. Yo, bro, I think I am gonna go shower."
Dom nodded, "Alright."
"Yes, please," Letty added as she unfolded the bag to her popcorn.
With more room left on the bench Dom scooted away from Letty towards the end, to slightly extend his sore legs.
"You gonna quit being greedy and share your food," Dom asked. "I did put in a lot of work today."
Letty rolled her eyes and tossed him the bag. He unwrinkled the plastic and tossed one at a time in the air, catching them with his mouth. "Bet you can't do that."
"Hand the bag over. Let me show you how a pro does it," Letty said unimpressed by his antics. This was one thing she loved about their friendship; they always challenged each other in everything.
Letty tossed three pieces of popcorn in the air and caught them effortlessly. She then handed Dom the bag for him to try and match it – and of course he failed.
"Ha," Letty teased in victory.
"Eh, whatever," Dom shrugged it off like it was no big deal. "Let's see you catch these." Dom grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed them at her face.
"Sore loser," Letty yelled out through her laughter and she lunged at Dom, attempting to pour out the entire bag on his head.
"Dang, you guys treat food with such disrespect," Vince sighed out in disbelief. "Look at this, letting it fall to the ground. Anyway, I'm gonna head home and get some clean clothes. I'll be back in a few."
"V, you should just bring all shit over here, it's not like you're mom notices you're gone," Dom suggested.
"I think I will. I'll see you guys later," Vince walked down the porch steps waving bye.
"You know Letty, popcorn covered hair isn't really you thing," Dom said as he scooted closer to her and began pick the pieces that got stuck to her hair.
Letty forced herself to stay completely still and hide any sort of emotion that would show she was swooning over him. When her hair was ridden of popcorn, Dom brushed away a stray piece of hair behind her ear. For a brief moment their eyes locked and Letty marveled at how soft and caring Dom's eyes could be – especially for someone who was considered such a tough guy. Dom slightly paused, and took notice at how Letty expressed and conveyed so much emotion through her eyes. He couldn't understand her those emotions, what was it? It appeared to be a cross between admiration and confusion, but he wasn't quite sure. When he realized he was staring like a dumbstruck fool he scooted away.
"Letty," Dom began, "did you brush your teeth today?"
Letty looked at him incredulously and punched his arm. "You're a jerk."
Dom burst into laughter while Letty rolled her eyes. Count on Dom to ruin perfect, small, moments. His laughter quickly came to a halt when he heard the familiar sound of his father's Chevelle engine.
"Oh shit, it's my dad. Letty, hide somewhere. You know you're mom is gonna have him check to if you're outside."
Without further debate, Letty scurried away alongside the house behind some bushes, as Anthony neared the driveway.
"I see you cleared out everything in the basement, good. Now you can sweep all the dirt, dust, and neatly put this stuff back in," His father ordered.
"Today?" Dom asked, hoping he'd say no.
"Of course today. You're not going to just leave this these boxes furniture in the drive way are you?"
Dom sighed in frustration and thought that maybe the fight with Tran wasn't worth it after all. Maybe looking like a punk was better than being put through all this labor work. "No."
His father nodded and turned to go inside to make lunch, but stopped. "Oh, and Letty, your mother is working a double shift, so you're staying here tonight," he said without turning his head to face the bushes. He smiled and shook his head at the young whippersnappers these days, and how they thought they were so slick. They always seem to forget that their parents were once young, mischievous kids too. "I'll have lunch ready in ten," he added before disappearing inside.
Letty emerged from behind the bushes, her mouth agape. There was no way that he could have seen her. She was convinced he possessed supernatural powers. "Man, how does your dad do that?"
Dom, with the same agape mouth answered, "I have no idea. He's been doing it for years and it amazes me every time."
"I'm gonna go shower, get some clothes, and lock up the house. Tell your dad I'll be right back." Letty turned and started walking back to her house, she turned her head back and yelled, "Oh and you should shower too, you're starting to smell worse than Vince."
Dom laughed and trekked inside his house to wash up for lunch.
Letty packed quickly, locked all the windows and doors and ventured back to Dom's house, where she met Vince carrying a similar duffle bag.
"You moving in too, Letty?" He asked. "This is going to be fun."
"Just for the night V, don't get too excited." Letty answered as she walked inside and joined Dom and Anthony in the kitchen.
Vince took a seat beside Letty as they joined Dom and his father for some macaroni and cheese with pancetta. They ate silently, afraid that anything they said would further increase their punishment, or anger Mr. T more than he already was. The only thing that broke their silent was Vince's farting. Dom, Letty, even Anthony burst out laughing.
Vince's cheeks turned bright red. Under normal circumstances he would be proud and say something like "ahh smells like roses" but that was in front of friends, not father figures like Mr. T.
"Sorry, I had a lot cheese today," Vince said bashfully.
"You have a lot of everything, V," Letty said through a slew of uncontrollable giggles.
"Ah, you kids," Mr. T. smiled. He set down his fork and looked at the three of them. "Look, I'm not mad; I just want you kids to think rationally. Feuds like one with the Trans are no good, trust me, I know. Now, let's try and avoid them as best we can. Okay?"
They all nodded in agreement.
"Okay, I gotta go and pick up the other good child of the bunch," he said winking at Letty.
Dom and Vince both snorted as Anthony left to pick up Mia.
"So, since we're all grounded, how are we going to go out with Hector Friday night?" Letty asked as she licked the cheese off her bowl.
"Yeah, bro, what are we gonna do?" Vince turned to Dom. "I really wanna go and see what this is all about."
Dom pondered for a few moments. He wanted to go just as bad as they did, but he also didn't want to get caught sneaking out and disappoint or anger is father further. He looked from down at his empty plate and thought intently. Finally after a few moments he snapped his fingers. "We gotta get Mia in on this."
Vince quirked his eyebrows, "Mia?"
"Yeah, she can lie for us or something," Dom explained.
Letty shook her head. "You really think Mia is going to stay home and lie for you? You're outta you're mind. She's gonna wanna come. So you might as well dump that idea."
Dom knew Letty was right. His sister was born nosey and would give them hell for not including her on their little endeavors. Even though she was petite, an soft spoken, she possessed quite a frightful wrath.
"Well, maybe if we get on my dad's good graces these next two days he'll forget about grounding us. We can say that Hector is having a 'back to school party' for the kids at school. Sneak Letty and Mia out and really go to these races."
"Sounds good to me," Vince said.
"That sounds like a plan with a lot of holes in it. Are you sure about this?" Letty asked skeptically.
"Yes, I am sure. Let's just pray your mom is working a double shift that night, that way it'll be easier to sneak you out if you're here." Dom did his best to reassure.
"Okay."
For the rest of the afternoon they swept the basement, dusted and cleaned the furniture, and neatly stacked the boxes with important stuff. When they repositioned the last piece of furniture they flopped down on the nearest sofa and chair. They were exhausted, tired, and ready to pass out on a moment's notice.
"Hey guys," Mia cheerfully greeted them as she entered the basement," this place looks great. It can be a nice chill spot."
"Yeah," Dom said, exhaustion permeating his voice. "And Mia, you're too hype, tone it down a bit."
She ignored her brother's comment and took a seat next to Letty. "I took notes, and wrote down all the homework assignments so you won't fall behind. We can do them tonight and I'll turn yours in tomorrow."
Letty gave her a weak smile. "Thanks, girl. What would we do without you?"
"Edwin was asking for you," She blurted out.
Dom's ear's immediately perked up. "Dang, is he whooped already? What'd you do to him, Letty?"
Letty snorted. "None of the nasty shit you do to random girls."
"Right, so what did he want, Mia?" Dom interrogated.
Letty's face formed an expression of confusion. Why in the world was Dom so interested in the guy she talked to? She suddenly got butterflies at the possibility of Dom being jealous, or even better, actually taking a liking to her.
"Why do you care so much?" Mia questioned.
"I really don't, if this was any other chick I wouldn't care, but this is Letty, she's not just any other chick" he said pointing. She fought back her smiling at Dom considering her something more, "she's part of our family, and we look out for each other. I don't want some pervert trying to take advantage of someone I consider my sister," Dom explained.
And with that statement Letty's butterflies lost their wings. Great, he thinks of me as his little sister, she thought. It annoyed her beyond belief.
What Letty didn't know, was that calling her his sister made him wince inside. Sure he considered Vince his brother, but Letty was nowhere near little sister status, she was his best friend, one of very few people who understood him. Possibly the only person who really saw the true Dominic Toretto. He couldn't blurt out that it made him a little jealous that guys' were paying attention to Letty and her looks, so he lied and came up with bullshit answer to cover it up.
"Anyways," Mia said, directing her attention to Letty, "he just said what's up, and that you pack the biggest right hook he's ever seen in a girl."
Letty smiled and stood from the sofa. "Thanks for telling me, I'll see Edwin this Friday," Letty smirked as she passed Dom and joined Mia upstairs in her room.
For the rest of the day Letty rested from her day's work, hung out with Mia –who helped with their homework assignments – and watched movies until Mr. T came home. They all remembered their plan to get on his good graces so they had dinner ready, the rest of the house spotless, and garbage already taken out. He was quite impressed.
The next day when Letty trotted over to her house, she cleaned up a bit, and even made her mom some pancakes. If sucking up was working with Mr. T, then Letty figured she would try it out on her mother as well. She even managed to utter the most sincere apology her brain could formulate. When all three of them were alone, they laughed at the lengths they went to just to be around cars. And it worked, because by Thursday, Anna, and Anthony, allowed them back at DT.
However, much to their dismay – but to Letty's delight – Dom and Vince were put back on the duty of sorting and stacking tires. Letty was the only one who got to dive right in and help out around the garage. As usual she kept sneaking glances at Dom and the way his slightly toned muscles tightened and then relaxed. It was pleasurably hypnotizing. This time, however, Letty wasn't so careful. As she was helping Anthony change some brake pads, she found herself dropping tools, or giving delayed responses. Of course, Anthony took notice, simply grinned, and pretended he didn't see a love struck, Letty. He knew Dom held Letty's attention but never commented on it. He was convinced that in time, they'd mature, stop dancing around each other, and realize their feelings to each other. In the mean time, he thought they should both enjoy being young.
Late afternoon approached, and Mia joined everyone at the garage, but it didn't take long for them to venture over to Toretto café for a bite to eat. They each took a seat on the available stools. Dom and Vince ordered turkey sandwiches, while Mia and Letty caught up on the final batch of their homework for the week. After tending to their growling stomach's they filled Mia in on their plans for Friday night and how to sneak Letty and her out. As they were going over a few details new customers entered the café. It was one of Dom's girls, Nicole.
She wore a light pink baby doll top, with a short jean skirt that made Dom and Vince drool like dogs.
Dom rubbed his chin. "Hey, Nicole. You still mad at me?" He asked with puppy dog eyes.
She tried to ignore and walk past him, but he gently reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her in between his legs. He gently massaged the sides of her arms and shot her a sweet smile. All Letty could do was roll her eyes at how easy these girls gave in.
"You forgive me, right?" He said in that charming voice of his, "How about I make it up to you."
She smiled sweetly and nodded her head. Dom brought his lips to her ear and began whispering something that made her giggle carelessly. Again, she nodded and planted a soft supple kiss on his lips before finding her older sister. Letty simply cringed at their antics and Dom's charade to get into the girl's pants. How dumb can this broad be, she thought. If that didn't disgust Letty enough, as Nicole was leaving she winked at Dom, and mouthed the words "see you soon."
"Dang, Dom, you got that girl wrapped around your finger," Vince said in admiration.
Dom only grinned as he downed the last of his soda. "Let's head back to the garage, and head home." he suggested.
"Why? Don't wanna be late for your cheap lay," Letty shot out.
Dom belched in her face. "Exacty."
Letty shoved him in the chest and walked ahead of the boys with Mia. When they reached the garage Dom convinced his dad to have one of the mechanics to drive them home a little early. Before they reached the Toretto house, Letty noticed the same black car dropping Nicole off at their house. Rolling her eyes, she asked the young mechanic to drop her off at her own house. She couldn't stomach the thought of Dom doing more than kissing girls. She quickly climbed out of the car and and utter a quick "see ya later" to them.
She did her best to avoid looking over at Dom's house but couldn't resist. Her eyes caught sight of Dom and Nicole, arms entwined heading into the side door of the basement, while Vince and Mia headed through the front door. Letty inhaled sharply and tore her eyes from their house. She gathered the day's mail from the mailbox and made her way inside.
What better to comfort than delectable food. Letty trekked into the kitchen and began assembling a massive ice cream sundae. When she dropped a cherry on top – completing the sundae – she entered the living room, propped up her legs on the coffee table, and started to watch her favorite horror move, Halloween. She was simply enamored by everything in the film, from the eerie music that gave her goose bumps to the creepy mask Michael Meyer's wears.
About twenty minutes into the movie Letty's eyes glanced down at the small pile of envelopes she brought in earlier. One in particular caught her attention, or rather the handwriting – it belonged to her father. Letty practically tossed her ice cream bowl on the coffee table and grabbed the letter swiftly. She marveled at it for a few seconds, this was the first time he wrote her since reporting for his military duty. She carefully opened it and unfolded the piece of paper delicately as if it were fine expensive crystal. Letty was so anxious to read his words that she failed to see the stack of hundred dollar bills that fell gracefully into her lap. She read each word carefully and intently, cherishing them as she placed them in her heart. When she finished reading, she scooped up the money her father sent her to save up for her dream car; her beloved Nissan 240 SX.
Letty was ecstatic to learn of her father's whereabouts, his promise to call soon, and even visit in the months to come. She tucked her money inside her sock, held her father's letter close to her heart, and decided she needed to tell someone, to share her excitement. Only one person came to mind. It was Dom. These were the type of things they shared to each other first, before anyone else. And without thinking, Letty jetted out of her house and down the street to Dom's house. Completely forgetting about Dom and his "date", she reached the door knob that belonged to the closest door, an action she would soon come to regret.
The side door leading into the basement flung open swiftly. "Dom, you won't believe this but-"
Letty was silenced by the sight her eyes were bearing. In what appeared to be lightening speed, Dom jumped off of the half naked Nicole and pulled up his boxers and jeans.
