The sky was turning from pink to purple when Troy pulled up outside of her apartment block. The days were getting shorter as summer wound down, soon autumn would blow in with its gale force winds and lashing rain, but for now the balmy weather in Stilwater meant she didn't need more than a light jacket on a night. He left the engine ticking over as he got out and let her sit in the driver's seat.

'Hey man, I'm sorry about earlier,' Lachance said as he dropped into the passenger seat next to her.

'Listen, don't be sorry. You're not the first to tell me I ask too many questions,' he said and gave her a quick, tight smile. He seemed distant.

'Thanks.' She pulled the seat closer to the pedals. He had it winched back to accommodate his long legs. 'You sure you're okay with me drivin' your car? I'd be all weird if someone else got behind the wheel of my ride.'

'I think both you and Lin have made it abundantly clear that I ain't the best person for this job, kid.'

'You just stick way too much to the rules of the road, yo. Rules are there to be broken,' she said as she revved the engine and felt its barely restrained power. Lin was right, it sang.

'Just don't wreck my car, and we'll be fine. Oh, and there's no smokin' in here either,' he said, knocking the cigarette out of her hand before she pulled out her lighter.

Lachance looked around at the pristine interior and leaned forwards to retrieve the cigarette from the footwell. 'Huh, really? You some kinda OCD neat freak? Bet my crib makes you twitch.'

'There's a reason I stay in the kitchen. Would it kill you to clean up once in a while… what?' Troy noticed she was grinning at him.

'Nothin'... dad.'

The smile touched his eyes now at least. 'Fuck off and drive, kid.'

The tyres squealed as she set off in the direction of the suburbs of Stilwater, where the race was scheduled to start.

As she drove, Troy sat forwards, rubbing two fingers against his lips. 'Look, I don't care what Lin says about winnin' this race. I was thinkin' that if we get close to each one and piss 'em off enough they'll hit the nitrous early. We can get this wrapped up quick.'

'Whoa, you don't think I can win this shit, do you?' Lachance asked. She narrowed her eyes. 'Oh, it is so on, motherfucker.'

'I didn't say that. Quit takin' everything as a challenge. It was just a suggestion.'

Lachance frowned slightly at the sharpness of his tone. 'Yo, you get tetchy when you don't have a smoke in your hand, man.' She pulled up at a pedestrian crossing and shot him a look.

'I got a lot on my mind at the moment. And sometimes bein' around you can be hard work- Just hear me out,' he said, holding up a hand as she opened her mouth to make a comeback. 'I'm never sure where I stand with you. Half the time I don't know if I wanna shake you, or hug you or… I dunno.'

Lachance stared at him for a moment, until the blast of a car horn behind her signalled that the light had turned green. She turned back to the road and accelerated hard. 'Whatever,' she said with a shrug. She liked Troy. A lot. But whether it was as a surrogate father figure, a friend, or because she wanted him inside her, she couldn't make up her mind. No wonder the poor guy was confused.

She checked the clock on the dashboard as she brought the car to a stop at the end of a leafy avenue. They still had another fifteen minutes to wait before the start, so she switched off the engine.

A group of Rollerz members had their cars parked in the vast front garden of one of the houses further down the street. The cars were all tricked out with huge spoilers, cavernous exhausts, and thundering sound systems. Girls draped themselves over the vehicles and their owners. One of them got down on her knees in front of a stocky blonde guy, to the delighted whoops of his blue-clad brothers. They high-fived him over her bobbing head.

'Ugh, I can see why Lin hates these fuckers so much,' Lachance said, turning her attention back to Troy.

He rubbed his chin. 'I worry about her, doin' this. You roll with people long enough, and pretty soon you start thinkin' like 'em.'

'The fuck? Lin is a Saint through and through. How can you even say shit like that? She would kick your ass, man,' Lachance said. 'And you don't just forget who you are 'cause you're hangin' with different people, yo. If you do, then you was never the person you thought you was at the start.'

Troy seemed to consider her words for a long time before he spoke again. 'You talk a lot of shit, Lachance. But then every so often you go and say somethin' like that.'

'It's 'cause I'm all worldly-wise, man. Hey, do you want to hear my theory on-'

'Nope.'

'Spoilsport.' She checked the clock again and looked out of her side window at the row of well-maintained, detached houses and their neat gardens. Her hands tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel. 'Would you ever wanna live somewhere like this?'

'Why not? It's a nice neighbourhood.'

'Hmm, it'd drive me fuckin' crazy. Bet they have some douchebag who comes round and measures the length of your lawn every week. Where did you grow up, man?'

'Now who's askin' all the questions?' Troy asked, irritation starting to creep back into his voice. 'Can't you just sit still and be quiet for five minutes?'

'S'cuse me for breathin',' Lachance muttered. She lapsed into a moody silence.

The Rollerz started to get into their cars, and the three that had been modified by Samson were lined up in the street to start the race. Lachance fired up the Zircon. The engine rumbled as she slowly brought it up to the blue and white car at the back. Troy wound down his window and leaned out. 'Hey, you little pricks think you can drive? I'll bet even my girl can leave you standin', motherfucker,' he shouted to the young guy behind the wheel.

'You want some of this?' The guy yelled back, grabbing his crotch. 'I can see your bitch does, ain't that right baby? C'mon then, let's see how you do, and maybe I'll let your girl suck my cock when you get your asses kicked.'

'My girl?' Lachance whispered. She'd felt a shot of butterflies when the words had come out of his mouth.

'Just go with it,' he whispered back.

Engines were revved hard, the cars rocking on their suspensions as the racers waited for the signal to go. One of the girls sashayed out into the middle of the street and held up her arms. Lachance brought the revs up, listening. When she dropped her arms, Lachance slipped the clutch, spun the tires, and launched. The car shot down the street, narrowly missing the girl, and Troy hollered out of the window at the two cars now behind them.

'You Rollerz are a fuckin' joke,' he yelled.

The race course had been marked out with pairs of burning barrels on either side of the road. Lachance threw the car into the first corner, making sure to angle it so they clipped the apex. The Zircon was still trying to swing its heavy ass but she held it in check and gently gave the gas pedal more pressure as the road straightened out. They were now right behind the lead car.

'Fuck me,' she breathed. In the rear-view mirror, she watched as the car that had started next to them was engulfed in a ball of orange flames. It had been trailing in last place, so the driver must have tried to use the nitrous oxide boost and triggered Samson's explosives. She dragged her attention back to the road as Troy yelled at the remaining car behind them.

The engine whined as she dropped down through the gears in preparation for another tight corner, and she managed to accelerate out of the bend and pull into first place. The guy she'd just passed slammed his hand against his steering wheel in frustration as she and Troy made a variety of rude hand gestures out of their windows, laughing.

It was exhilarating, hearing the car roar, feeling the wind whip at her hair as it streamed in through the open windows. 'That all you got?' she shouted.

'Didn't know who you were fuckin' with, did ya?' Troy shouted.

They whooped together as the car in second place burst into flames.

'Man, this is fuckin' awesome,' she yelled as they passed between two more flaming barrels.

'I think you might have to slow down to give this final fucker a chance,' Troy said with a laugh.

Lachance flicked her eyes back to the rear-view mirror. 'Or maybe not,' she said. The car flashed blue and then exploded up from the road, and spun away to crash through a fence and into someone's front yard.

'Lin doesn't fuck around does she?' Troy said, watching the flaming wreckage. 'C'mon, let's get outta here.'

x.x.x

Near the church, she grabbed the handbrake and threw the car into a squealing 180 degree turn to park perfectly just outside the churchyard.

She ran her hands over the steering wheel. 'I love this car, man. I'm gonna get Lin to tune up my ride.'

'It helps that you're one damn fine driver, Lachance. Jesus.'

She turned and met his eyes. Maybe it was just because his blood was up from the race, but there was something in the way that he looked at her, and it helped make up her mind about what she wanted. She leaned towards him, feeling her heartbeat quicken as he reached out to pull her closer. Their lips met gently at first, as if they were both unsure about how the other would react. Lachance's breath hitched when his hand moved from her arm to lightly brush over her breast, and she tangled her fingers through his hair to kiss him deeper.

With a grunt, Troy grabbed the belt loops of her jeans and hauled her over so she could straddle him in the passenger seat. After he pulled off her jacket she unfastened her gun belt and dropped them both onto the driver's side. Her lips trailed across the line of his jaw, and she bit his earlobe, feeling his hands run from her hips up under her jersey and bra.

'You drive me fuckin' crazy,' he said, his breath ragged. She laughed against his ear and his lean body tightened underneath her.

'In a good way or a bad way?' She sat up and looked directly into his brown eyes as she moved against the growing hardness in his pants.

'Both.'

Before she could get offended, he slipped one hand behind her back to crush her body and lips against his. His tongue pushed into her mouth as he pinched her nipple, making her moan low in her throat and reach for his belt and the buttons on his jeans.

There wasn't enough room in the front. Lachance broke away and slid between the two seats to the back of the car, kicking off her boots and wriggling out of her skinny jeans as she did so. She gave him her dirtiest smile and tugged at his shirt. Troy climbed into the back with her. It was still cramped, and she accidently caught his jaw with her elbow as she laid under him and tried to put her arms around his neck. 'Shit! Sorry.'

'Ow.' A half-smile twisted his mouth as he poked his tongue out at her. 'Yo, is it bleedin'?' he asked, mimicking her hoodrat accent.

'It will be, bitch.' She laughed and snapped her teeth at him. His mouth covered hers as she used her legs to slide his jeans down over his hips. Only the thin cotton fabric of their underwear separated them as he rubbed against her. She moved with him, arching her back. 'I wanna fuck you so bad,' she gasped.

'Oh fuckin' hell, Lachance,' he said with a groan. His breath was shaky. 'Just… are you sure?'

'Really? Yeah, I'm sure.'

Troy pushed himself up on his hands to run his eyes over her body. A frown crossed his face when they fell on the bite mark on her thigh. He sat back, face flushed, and touched the bruise lightly with a fingertip. 'Ah, shit. This is such a fucked up idea.'

'Ugh, why?' Lachance threw her head back in frustration. She was aching for him. 'Forget about Vinnie, he don't mean nothin', man.'

'It's not just that.' Troy paused. 'You're so young, Lachance. People will say I'm abusin' my position, takin' advantage of you.'

'C'mon, I don't give a fuck what anyone says.'

'But anyone could just walk past us out here,' he said, and waved his hand at the church.

'Then let's go back to mine. It's, like, a ten minute drive away, man.' Lachance sat up. She was starting to get the sick feeling that this wasn't going to go anywhere.

Troy ran a hand over his face. 'This isn't right, kid. I'm sorry.'

Lachance bristled at the word 'kid'. 'You fuckin' married or some shit? The fuck is goin' on?' she asked angrily.

The look that crossed Troy's face was hard to read. 'I can't explain… you wouldn't understand.'

'Oh fuck that.' Lachance pulled on her jeans, grabbed her gun, jacket, and boots from the front seat, and opened the rear passenger door. 'Yo, this is bullshit. I'm done.'

'Lachance, wait.' Troy hiked his jeans up with one hand and stepped out in front of her as she tried to walk away.

'No. You said you don't know where you stand with me, but that's totally what you make me feel like.' Lachance glared up at him. 'So I'm gonna make it real fuckin' simple. You're my homie, I got your back but that's it. Now get outta my way before I knock you the fuck out.' She strode into an alley and pulled on her boots when she was certain he hadn't followed her. That jerk-off could go and… jerk off. Pussy-teasing motherfucker.

Lachance was still angry half an hour later when she kicked open the door to her apartment. She downed several large measures of whiskey before stripping naked and throwing herself into bed.