It was always a problem with Lenora. She had to jinx it.

The minute the door clicked shut, Johnny's hands were on either side of her head. His face was so close that she thought she could see the deep lines encircling the bottom of his eyes.

Hints of a dark circle enframed them; the guy must not sleep very much. His lips pursed into a sneer as he breathed down her neck.

"Don't butt into my business ever again." Johnny's voice was a hoarse whisper. But under that control, Lenora could hear the violent thoughts coursing below his scalp.

She hardened her eyes and met his gaze, refusing to step down from her own platform. If he was going to unleash his frustrations on her, then he had another thing coming.

"What are you talking about," she probed. It sounded like a good plan to play innocent, and she probably knew why he was pissed.

It would seem that Samson had gotten to him more than he'd like to admit. The idea comforted her, and a smug smile played at her lip.

Johnny wasn't in the mood for semantics. "Quit your attitude before you regret it. Never embarrass me in front of people like that again."

She knew she stepped on a nerve back at the restaurant, but Lenora didn't think he would be this wounded from her trying to diffuse the situation. It made her see red; the bastard had no right to use her as a punching bag. Had she not 'butted into' his business, she reckoned they'd still be stuck with Samson's crew.

"Well I'm sorry I tried to help," she snapped. "I should've just let you get beat up in broad daylight."

Barking a laugh, Johnny leaned back to his seat. A grin spread across his face, flashing the row of pearly whites. It was nearly charming, had the owner of the smile not been a psycho.

The man was on the constant loop between ice cold rage and volcanic fury; she wouldn't be surprised if that was what kept him alive most days.

"You don't think I could've handled them?" He was smirking now, his dark irises flashing with amusement.

Lenora rolled her eyes, turning to look out the window. His teenage mood swings were not her problem, and she'd be damned if she was to cater to his bruised ego. Crossing her arms, she huffed a strand of hair away from her face.

"We were in public for fuck's sake! And I was simply looking out for myself." She sent a scowl his way and snorted. "Though I might just let you have it next time. If that ever happens."

Johnny jammed the keys a little too roughly into the ignition, rattling the chains. He faced the road before him, mouth pressed into that grim line again.

His hands grasped the steering wheel and gave a rough jerk, propelling the car onto the road within seconds. Lenora continued to avoid his direction as the car picked up speed. Judging by the way he drove, he wasn't in the mood either.

If there was one word to describe the atmosphere in the car, it wouldn't be possible. Lenora wished she had brought a magazine or a book, or anything to make it look like she wasn't trying to act busy. Her fingers rapped against her knees, while her legs bounced like a yoyo out of control.

Both of them were quiet after Johnny's threat, and she would be lying if she said she'd rather it stay that way.

Under the pressure, she needed to occupy herself. But what was she going to do? Blast the radio of his car?

Whether he made an attempt to look at her from the side wasn't known to her. For however long he started driving, she faced away. Lenora swore that if she kept her neck turned for a moment longer, she might develop scoliosis.

"You can drop me if you want to," she stated. The silence cracked her pride, and she couldn't find it in herself to hold it anymore. Having the ability to teleport sounded like heaven to her at the moment. Tension had wrapped itself around her, making her want to melt right into her seat.

"We're on a highway." Johnny's guise didn't budge. His gritted teeth muffled most of the sound, but she got enough from it.

Lenora slapped a hand to her forehead, feeling herself wanting to disappear into her skin.

Of all places, she tells him to drop her off on a freeway?! There was no telling how low her intelligence had gotten. At this rate, she may as well apply for clown academy.

Her fingers twiddled aggressively around one another, so much so she heard them crack.

It startled her to even feel apologetic for her stupid outburst. She usually would've been thrilled to annoy the shit out of him. His mood was part of it; if given the choice, she would choose life, too.

Nothing beats having a psychotic driver who wants to beat the living shit out of your friend. Maybe it would be safe if she just appealed to his good side for now.

As if on cue, her phone rattled its tune like there was no tomorrow. The happy melody was like a sardonic 'fuck you' to her face. But her heart leapt at the opportunity; her one distraction had come up, and she was going to hang onto it for dear life. Lenora didn't bother to check the ID before racing to pick it up.

She put on her best tranquil look, and spoke with a bit too much sugar. "Hello?"

"I did it!" Mia's voice shrieked with laughter from the other side. "Guess what happened?!"

"Mia?!" Lenora would've choked up blood had there been no self-control left.

The other woman chortled. " 'course it's me!"

Lenora's stomach couldn't have dropped even lower. The arch enemy of her friend was driving to her left, with said friend now blaring into the phone on her right. But the Toretto, on the other hand, sounded like she had too much to drink. And it wasn't even till the barbeque yet.

She finally turned to face Johnny, only to notice the way his eyes narrowed. In spite of his composure, she could see the resolve to keep it together splitting by the second.

Is there a way to self-destruct without dying? She had been so engrossed with her own problems that she failed to catch ninety-nine percent of Mia's info dump.

"-and now we're an item!" The last traces of her friend's gossip ended, and Lenora faced an awkward silence that followed after.

"What happened...?" she coughed up a reply. "It was too fast, and I-uhhh...lost signal."

That was the best excuse she could come up with on the spot, and she prayed that Mia wasn't about to snoop.

"Brian asked me out!" Mia exclaimed. "You should've seen it! He did it in front of Dom, too! Oh god, the way his face turned red was so fucking cute!"

Lenora sputtered, her brain scrambling to put together the pieces of information. "Wait seriously?! So are you guys like dating now?"

Mia let out another airy giggle. "Yes! It's official! Can you believe it?"

A nervous chuckle escaped Lenora. She wasn't sure if it was prime time for her to celebrate the new couple. Her fingers popped against each other without mercy, drumming their frantic dance.

"U-um, yeah... I'm so happy for you!" The last bits of air was squeezed through her windpipes, coming out in a hysterical squawk.

"Are you okay, Nora?" Mia took a sudden turn with an inquisitive air. "You don't sound so good."

Lenora freaked and looked over to her pyromaniac companion. Johnny was still ignoring her, which made the situation worse. What the fuck was she supposed to do now?! Fumbling with a probable answer, she cleared her throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine! I'm just coming back from the grocery's." She heard a slight snort from the man next to her, but chose to ignore it. It would do her no good if she snapped her sanity at this time. Mia sighed on the other end, before yelling something in Spanish at what sounded like Vince.

He was complaining along the lines of not having enough beer, with Brian taking up most of the inventory. Oh, and she had completely forgotten the string of profanities that flew from him. And that was mostly about Brian, too. Lenora was this close to thinking about introducing him to a hobby in his free time.

"Vince sounds like he's having fun," she noted dryly.

Mia scoffed. "Tell me about it. We're only pregaming, and he's already down the deep end. I don't think I could hold him any longer."

"I'll be there soon," Lenora assured her. "Just gimme an hour."

Checking the time on her phone, she noted the approaching hand towards the six. She had an inexplainable urge to yell at Johnny to go faster. The day wasn't getting any longer.

"Ok, I'll fill you in about Brian later," Mia continued. Lenora could hear the wink in her voice. With a sigh, she shook her head despite the grin on her face.

"Yeah! See you." The call was clicked off and she shoved the phone back into her bag. It was a relief it ended earlier than she'd thought, else she wouldn't know how to keep the two sides controlled on her end.

"I see you're kissin' their asses now, four-eyes," Johnny chimed. His voice from the endless silence made her jump.

Lenora grimaced at the new name, muttering curses in her mind.

The muted purring from the engine was all she could hear for the past minutes, and the comment caught her off guard. He was doing a fantastic job at being a mute, but he had to ruin it.

There was a barbeque waiting for her back home, so she wasn't going to waste her breath getting fired up over a moody man-child.

"It's called being a good friend," Lenora quipped right back. "Although I don't think you'd understand."

Johnny scowled. "Now that's really rude, Lennie."

Pointing up her chin, Lenora scoffed. "What's rude is you calling me that despite me already telling you not to."

She jabbed a finger to her chest, trying her hardest to not just go off on the spot. The drive was taking more time than she'd expected, grating her nerves in the process.

Part of her wanted to believe that the guy was taking the long route just to see her squirm. There was no doubt it was something Johnny would do.

"You called me that stupid name first," Johnny grounded. He increased the pressure on the gas pedal, swerving the car between lanes. She gave him a long stare after that, for a moment not comprehending his complaint.

The incident at the restaurant was long gone in her rearview mirror, and she wasn't about to go back to dig it up.

Letty's nickname for him finally popped back into her head as she tried to recall it. With a snort, she snapped her vision back to the road.

"You're still hung up on that?!" The incredulity was poorly hidden. Lenora had a notion that maybe Johnny's parents dropped him on his head one too many times as a kid. The man was on the same level as Vince, and that by itself said a lot.

Even when Johnny was more intimidating, and his rage was better concealed, the characteristics were still the same.

Her imaginations of a baby with Johnny's face plopping head first onto the ground sent her wheezing. It was a terrible thing, but she couldn't help it. Lenora tried to cover her mouth, but the sounds had already broadcasted all over the car.

Johnny's brow twitched as he side-eyed her. "What's so funny?"

It wasn't a question. For a second, Lenora feared that he knew what she was snickering at by the way his fingers grated on the steering wheel. But the inside joke she told herself was just too good, and she wasn't on board with the idea of surrendering her laughing rights, too.

"If you think that calling me-" Johnny didn't get the chance to finish when she held up her hands in exaggerated submission.

"I'm not laughing at that!" Lenora snapped. It was true to some extent. She wasn't laughing at the name per se, more at him. "I was talking to myself in my head, ok?!"

She slumped back onto the seat with a defeated sigh. There was nothing to convince him otherwise, so might as well let him stew in his own misery. Johnny was quiet after her outburst, his gaze back to full focus on the road.

Silence engulfed them once again. Just when she thought he would leave her alone for the rest of the ride, her hopes were blasted to smithereens.

"You're so fucking weird," he murmured.

Lenora could hear the last few screws pop out her head as her blood bubbled like lava. She whisked around so fast her hair brushed his face. As the curtains of rage dropped down onto her head, her lips curled up to a sneer.

"Beats being a nihilistic fuck like you!"

Venom poured from every fiber of her, and the force of her own frustrations overwhelmed the strength controlling any civility. Her fingers twitched as she blew out the last traces of her steam. It felt good. But it wasn't until she spat out the insult when she realized she could've just jumped out from the moving vehicle; the consequences were no different.

A cold dread rained down her spine, spreading like wildfire into her nerves. Panic broiled in her gut as she watched with sudden caution at the man before her.

Johnny's eyes were wide, unblinking, as if he heard that today was his last day on Earth. Then in just seconds, they became two dark holes boring through the windshield. His brows scrunched together in a tight line, and the car came to a stop with so much force that Lenora thought she was going to be launched out her seat.

"This is where you get out." The command was terribly soft. Had the constructions been any louder on the streets, she wouldn't have caught it. Pandering around, Lenora turned to gape at him.

Against her better judgement, she opened her mouth. "Where are we?"

"Outskirts of Echo Park," Johnny relayed with clenched teeth. "Now fuck off."

Dismay shook her to the bones. They were now off the highway and onto much calmer streets; she had been so engrossed with herself that she failed to notice. The passenger side was right next to the sidewalks, and the busy citizens were making their way around one another, oblivious to the sizzling duo.

It dawned on Lenora that she didn't even know the place he took her. If she'd known any better, it would be entirely believable had Johnny dumped her in any random part of LA just to mess with her.

There weren't any coins to take the bus, and she wasn't certain with how much cash she had for a taxi after the shopping spree.

"It's gonna take me hours to walk back!" she snapped. "My gelato's going to melt!" It was a horrible point to make, but her scattered mind thought it was the best argument.

The bastard had the guts to laugh. "I think that's a you-problem."

"But why stop here?!" Lenora cried. She wanted to pull out her hair on the spot.

Johnny smirked, the devil's charm stamped all over his face. She knew she wasn't going to like the sound of this.

"Me and Dom have an agreement, remember?" he drawled. "This is the farthest I can take you."

Lenora seethed. "Bullshit! Tell that to your friend you brought over today!"

"I'm already late to my drop because of you," Johnny growled. He shot her a warning glare. "So get out before I change my mind and fuck up your friends."

The sheer amount of disbelief hit her upside the head in a hard slap. Lenora stared back, trying to discern the level of sincerity in his threat. Any hint of playfulness was gone from his eyes, replaced with a stony look. When it was obvious he wasn't going to back down from the blinking contest, she hissed and threw open the door.

"Fine. Be that way." Lenora stomped off onto the sidewalks in a huff, slamming the door behind her without so much as looking. The resounding thunk from behind settled her nerves, though she was sure she was going to pay for it later. Frowning, she shook the thought from her head; there was no chance in hell for her to ever be near him again. She would see to it herself.

Lenora glowered at him from the distance, very much wanting to flip him off. But the public restraints held her back, thus making her resort to silently curse his ass off. She flirted with the idea of having Kaya to relay a certain message to her 'good friend'.

With a hiss, the Honda powered back to life. And without missing a beat, Johnny drifted out of her sight, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. It was over. At least she was now free to be out of his way. That was the only positive outcome of their interaction.

The fact she even had to be near him in the first place made her teeth itch, so in a sense she was glad she didn't have to prepare a snarky comment every five seconds.

Her mind rotated in a frenzy with what to do next. If she wasn't going to act fast, then desert was done for. The taxis around her gave the first idea, but upon diving into her wallet, the only spare cash was a pitiful five dollar bill stuck between the folds like it was trying to hide from her scowl. Thus taking the cab went out the window.

Grumbling, she pulled out her phone and punched in the numbers. Lenora's face turned a bright shade of red when she heard Mia pick up the phone. There was music in the background, further rubbing it in her face that they were having the time of their lives while she was shat on by the local douche.

"Are you back?" Mia's even tone hinted at her much sober state. Lenora contemplated on telling her the truth of her misfortunes, but bailed on the last minute. She swallowed the fact and changed gears. Just thinking about Tran gave her a brain aneurysm, and it wasn't that crucial anyway.

"Yeah...about that," she muttered. Glancing around, Lenora gripped the phone in her hand, feeling her nails scrape across the plates. The sound was oddly satisfying. She twisted the rings on her fingers, unsure of what to say.

"I think I need a ride."

Cursing the gods, Lenora grabbed the handles and pulled herself in.