RED SPARKS.

Grace collided right into the grey fencing around the racing track. She needed to pay more attention to how she was driving, she thought. Yes, granted that she was new here and there were some things on her mind right now, but she needed to focus on training for the big race- it was only a few weeks away, after all. Here she was, back in Sacramento, in how many years? Too many, she decided. This was like a dream for her. Back in high school, she and her friends Patrick, Teresa, Wayne and Kimball had all decided to become professional auto-racers. They all went their separate ways after that, but were now brought back together, for one of the grandest events in her life so far. Grace was just a rookie, and was much more than pleasantly surprised to see her old friends when she first learnt that they would be racing and training with each other. 'Right. Back to reality' Grace thought.
She decided that she was too tired to continue to train for today, so she went back to the hotel she was staying at. When she first met her old friends again, they all decided to stay in the same hotel, so they would have time catch up. All of their sponsors had unknowingly placed them into the same hotel, close to the LSR speedway they were training at, and by coincidence they ran into each other during the breakfast hours. The look on Wayne's face when Grace ran into him as he was stuffing a sandwich into his mouth was absolute gold.

They had scheduled to meet in the evening for dinner to talk about all the years they weren't in each other's lives, and the big race. Cars, high school sweethearts, racing, long conversations with the people that used to be most important in your life, what's not to love?

Lisbon was overjoyed to learn who she would be training with; four of them were people she had been thinking about for years. She had been the one who had brought them all together since the beginning of elementary school. After graduation, they all obtained jobs and were increasingly divided, conversing less and less with each passing year. She was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, remembering all the fun times they had all those years, Jane making trouble and getting them busted, her apologising to the teachers, Cho always having her back, Rigsby and Van Pelt always childishly hitting on each other, with Rigsby and herself warding off any bullies. She would finally have time to meet them properly. Finally.

Cho and Rigsby had stuck together even after their group dispersed, and were glad to meet the others. Rigsby was desperate to meet Van Pelt, so he was overjoyed to see her, but a little embarrassed about how she ran into him stuffing his face with a chicken sandwich. After all these years, he still had feelings for her. Rigsby was adamant about Cho being his "wingman." "Please Cho, please?" Rigsby kept bugging him, and after a while, Cho surrendered, agreeing to his request.

Even though Cho wasn't one for emotions and all, he was still delighted on the inside. Lisbon had stood by him through the toughest times of his life and encouraged his aspirations as much as she could; Van Pelt and Jane had also been a lot of fun to hang out with, especially Jane, with his 'telepathic powers' as referred to by Rigsby.

Jane wanted to see the people that his best friends had turned into. He knew people changed, but knew that within they were the same people that they were in HS. He was most stirred to see if Lisbon was the same caring and honest person that he used to know all those years ago. He remembered how they were always there for each other. On the inside, he wished that things would go back to the way they used to be, but accepted that it may not happen. Nonetheless, he hoped.

After a long day of training, all of them freshened up, to meet for the dinner they all were so impatient for. On the inside, they were a little nervous, especially Lisbon; 'Oh my god, I'm finally going to meet them after all this time; what should I wear? And Jane's going to be there too, judging me with those goddamn intense eyes. Shit, I'm bad at this. It's just Jane.'
Cho had nothing to worry about, no one could see through his stone-cold face. Rigsby and Van Pelt weren't that nervous, just eager to see each other. And Jane, well, Jane could just hide all his emotions under that easily moldable face of his. It was time.

They all gathered in the hotel's dining hall and shared quick hugs. Rigsby was first struck by Grace's beauty in the ambient lighting. Soft music played in the surroundings, and they all took their seats and just kept staring at each other, trying to take it all in and wondering how much this felt like a dream. Eventually Jane broke the silence (like he always did) and asked with a grin, "How long has it been since we last sat together like this, eh?" They were all in agreement that it had been far too long. The talk then became lengthy, with them sharing memories and recollections from earlier times and realising that not much had changed since then, they were still mostly the same people, to all of their delight.

They ate and talked about a variety of topics, including cars, old crushes, and what happened after they split up. They had some awkward conversations as well as some very hilarious ones, like the time Lisbon almost knocked a bully unconscious, or the time Jane slipped a wet tissue into someone's pocket, convincing them it was a dead frog; Van Pelt almost choked on her food laughing as she remembered all the stupid dares they attempted in high school.
"Remember the time that we helped the police work out who killed one of our teachers, Ms Camille?" Cho brought up. They all remembered. "We were very good at stuff like that, weren't we?" Lisbon added. Jane nodded, and Van Pelt recalled how they worked out as a team to solve the mysteries that they faced together.

As the awkwardness melted to comfort, Lisbon reflected on how fortunate they had all been to have realised their aspirations and progressed to the point of training and racing together. Jane was more than relieved that they were still the same pleasant group that they had always been, he missed Lisbon so, so much. Cho pondered whether Rigsby and Van Pelt had a chance together, and how much time had passed since he had last enjoyed like this. Rigsby and Van Pelt were continuously thinking about one another, like the lovesick teenagers they always were deep within.

Time flew by, and it was time for them to return to their rooms. They agreed to meet every day until the final week before the races, and also to train together, because it would take a long time to catch up on EVERYTHING that went on in their lives.

They all slept well, knowing that they have some exciting few weeks ahead of them.

A/N: If you guys like the story so far, do tell! I have only two more chapters typed out so far, and WILL CONTINUE if reviews request. Uploads may not be consistent because, well, life.