Ack! I checked all of my reviews, and I just want to say thank you! I'm really glad that you people take time to enjoy my story! Whenever I read your comments, I swear, my day just gets a lot better. J
By the way, I've got a little Leon/Letty moment for y'all. :-P Hehe…
Oh, quick shout outs:
Foxyboxer: I know, my friends are weird too…can you believe that they actually think Vinny is ugly?!? Awful… Anyway, thanks for your reviews! Oh, and if you ever want to talk outside of shout outs/reviews, my sn is SleepyMonkey241 (sound familiar? :-P)
Mickey: Thanks! Yea, I kinda liked old Bri…lol- his part should get bigger as I go along!
Mmmmocha: Wow, you're the first to notice that Chris had Dom's number! Well, my Bearer of Information (Leon) passed on the phone number, to clear things up.
Fallen Angel: OMG, you totally got it right! MBFFW IS Melanie's Best Friends Forever Week! How'd ya guess? Lol, j/k. Yep, 100 reviews, but I only need 29 reviews, and I have a whole lot left of the story J, so I think my request is pretty simple. Thanks for helping with the end of this chapter!
CiCi: You are SO right about those kittens… I signed right away. As for the story, I think we shold start incorporating anime-fandom-reviews into TFATF! Lol, j/k!
Star: No one's going to die…yet…
DomLetty4Eva: *gasp* Thank you so much! You rock for saying that! *dances around*
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*Dom's POV*
I parked in the driveway in front of my house, taking a minute to appreciate the imports and supped-up cars that lined the block all around my neighborhood. All of the guys here weren't just my friends; they were also my opponents. I whistled lowly at the competition surrounding my Mazda RX-7, wondering when someone would finally beat me; wondering if Chris really was my better in a sport that I'd dominated for years.
When I walked inside, already looking around for my girl, my beer, and my friends, I was greeted by the usual crowd- guys who wanted to be- or beat- me and the skanks that surfaced only when Letty, Melanie, or Mia weren't around. Attempting to pull away from the loud, rowdy group was futile; I'd have to wait until they cleared away. Or not. Within seconds, Mel, Letty, Kat, Mia, Brian, Pax, Jesse, and Leon materialized in front of me, pushing away the drunks.
"Sorry, girls, Dom just doesn't do skanks anymore," said Melanie, handing me a Corona and pushing me off into the kitchen where Chris and Co. were already waiting.
We sat down and started to talk when I noticed someone wasn't there. "Where's Vince?"
"I don't know, dawg, he just came in and disappeared. Haven't seen him since we got here," growled Leon.
"He's been acting really strange lately," mentioned Mia.
"I think he's lonely," interrupted Mel.
"Vince? Please. He doesn't need anyone," laughed Jesse.
"No, he looks lonely, I mean, all of us have someone, and he only has himself. Poor V. We should introduce him to someone," Melanie continued, glancing at all of us.
"The kid is right, I fucking don't need anyone. Now can we please get back to the matter at hand, rather than talking about MY love life?" Vince stormed in and swiped at a seat, sitting down with a huff.
"Fine," I said, praying for an ounce of normality to come back to this night. "Chris, you're a good racer. There aren't many people who can tie with me, much less beat me. That's why I want you to join my team. You've proved that you're Team Toretto quality. What do you say?"
He smirked and answered, "Hell yeah, that sounds great. When am I in? Oh, and what about my own team? Team V can't just split up."
"Right. Keep them, but from now on, they'd race for me. You'd all be a part of my team. By the way, what does the 'V' stand for?"
He paused before speaking. "It stands for…victory. Team Victory. So, now that everything's done, why don't we get back to the party?"
I laughed before pulling away from my seat, accompanied by Mel. We didn't stick around the rest of the team at after parties ever since we'd all hooked up with someone. I turned to her when I felt her shivering beside me.
"What's wrong?"
"Vince was almost drooling over that girl over there. Did you see?"
"How's that funny?"
"It was cute. Never thought I'd see him that interested!"
"You think something'll happen between them?"
She stared at me soberly, now very serious. "I hope so. He needs someone to keep him in check. You know, someone to make sure he comes home at night. It's the same for you, Leon, and Brian. Except, you guys have us."
"You don't control me," I stated, glaring at her for a moment.
"Oh, honey…" she cooed, patting my head and wandering upstairs.
"You don't!" I insisted.
"Of course I don't," came her careless reply as she continued to our room.
"I'm the man. I've got the control. Me, the M-A-N," I mumbled to myself as I followed her finger, beckoning me towards my bed.
"Give me a massage, please."
"Okay." Oh yeah, Toretto, you're in control.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Come on, you have to see this, Let!"
"Le, I'm tired. I want to go to bed," I moaned as my husband dragged me outside.
"Look!" He was pointing to the sky, indicating a group of stars. "See that one?"
I winced to recognize his star of choice. It was large and bright, just as shiny and beautiful as the engagement ring Leon had gotten me years ago. "I see it. What's so special about it?"
"It's our star."
"What?"
"Don't you remember? When we first met, it was on this night- Mia's end of the school year party. You were so beautiful that night. Remember how you rejected me?"
I grinned, "Of course, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"After you did that, I went and looked at that same exact star that you see up there. I think it gave me the courage to ask you out again. What did you say to me then?"
"I told you I'd go out with you."
"Right, and the night before we had our first night…that night, I told you that I'd always love you. That was the first time I told you I loved you."
I closed my eyes and buried my head in my love's shoulder as he swung us around in a slow dance. He hummed the song from our wedding and went on to say, "It all happened under that star. I just wanted to show you that as long as that star burns, I'm always going to love you."
We kept dancing as Leon kissed my shoulder and rested his head on top of mine. "I love you, Leon," I whispered.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I walked over to the girl with the dark eyes from before. The one from Chris's team. It's not like she was off limits- I hadn't seen a man stick around her all night, and besides, now would be a good time to set up Team V/Toretto relations.
"Hey. Want something to drink?" I asked, sitting beside her.
She glanced up at me and flashed me a quick, pearly white smile and looked away again. Her eyes made her look like she was hurt by something.
"Are you okay? I'm Vince," I told her, offering her the beer again. I looked over her petite figure, clad in low-rise jeans and a black tube top. Her hair fell on her shoulders and framed her face.
"I'm fine," she whispered, so quietly that I barely heard. "I'm Josie. I don't usually drink, thank you."
"Oh…" I put the bottle down where it was snatched up by a passing Asian kid with slicked back hair. I tapped my fingers to the song that was playing, 'Enigma' by Trapt. It was around 2 in the morning, but no one cared about the volume because most of our neighbors were in the house anyway.
"Are you sure you're okay? I haven't seen you speak all night," I said once more. At the same time, I was thinking two things; 'I wish I could make her happier' and 'Remind me why I care…'
"I'm fine, really. If I were to speak, I should think people would find me insane," she said quietly, gesturing to the small crowd around her, uninterested in Josie.
I laughed as I saw another girl come and sit by Josie. She turned to me and indicated to the new girl. "Oh, Vince, this is my friend, CiCi. CiCi, this is Vince."
CiCi's eyes scanned me, taking in my appearance before she said, "It's very nice to meet you. I guess we're sort of team mates now, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess we are," I chuckled, scooting to the side to make room for Pax. I introduced him and saw CiCi scan Pax this time, with a little more interest in him than she'd had in me.
By the end of the night, I'd managed to get dates with both, without one knowing about the other's involvement. Thank God for bathroom brakes, right? I sat back after they left and took a sip from my bottle of Corona, relaxing and putting my legs up on the table. Let Mia yell at me in the morning.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
He was the best thing to have happened to me- the best and the worst. He saved me from a boring life doomed to stale, dry boyfriends and private school pep rallies. Then came the worst. That fateful night when he told me he had to work. The night he'd asked me to come with him. I knew something was up when he just stood on the corner of the street, leaning back and turning to look at me every now and then. Finally, some street punk with a dangling nose ring and green, spiky hair approached us.
"You got my merch?"
"As always," said Damien, pulling open a flap of his long coat. He removed a small packet filled with what looked like baby powder. Cocaine? What was Damien doing with drugs? He handed the bag over to the green-haired man and pocketed the large wad of money he'd received. Just like that, the druggie left without a word.
"Damien, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, glaring at him.
He laughed and said, "Relax, babe, what do you think paid for that necklace you're wearing?"
I trailed a finger along my silver necklace with a diamond in the center. "You bastard! How can you do this? Don't you know what'll happen?"
He didn't answer. "Yo, what the hell are you doin' on my block?" He yelled to some guy wandering down the street.
"I'm walking! Is that a problem? I can still walk here, I've got two legs, I'ma use 'em," the other man called back.
"Like hell!" With that, Damien pulled out a handgun and shot twice, hitting the man in the legs. The man toppled over and gripped his knees in painstakingly clear agony while Damien screamed; "Now you can't use them!!"
I ran faster than I'd ever run that night, ducking the bullets that Damien turned on me.
"If you ever tell anyone, I'll kill you, bitch!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I snuggled into Dom's embrace and yawned slowly. I must've fallen asleep during his massage- he worked magic with those hands of his. It was 3 AM, and I could still hear a couple of people downstairs- probably our team, both new and old members. I yawned again, this time feeling the dryness of my throat. After turning to kiss Dom's cheek softly, I wriggled out of his big arms and slipped on a robe, making my way downstairs.
I made my way into the kitchen, taking a clean glass to the pitcher of water on the table. My eyes drooped as I watched the clear liquid swoosh around the walls of the glass. I really needed to catch up on sleep. Behind me, I heard footsteps approach the table.
"Isn't it a little late for you to be up?"
I turned on my heel to face Chris. His eyes were a little glazed over. "I got thirsty. Why are you still here?"
"Taking in the sights," he mumbled, taking a few steps closer to me. "You're a rather nice sight, you know."
"Um…thanks," I said, starting to edge away.
"Why are you leaving? Come on, let me show you something," he continued. He followed me as I walked away.
"I have a boyfriend. You saw him, he could beat the shit out of you," I hissed, getting a little defensive; no one wants to deal with an unknown street racer, especially one who's smashed.
"Not if you don't tell him. Melanie, I saw you watching me at the races, you want me, I can tell," he chuckled.
"I wasn't watching you at the races, I was watching Dom. You two were standing close to each other."
He made a quick move to get ahead of me and touched my hand in a more-than-friendly way. I passed him and headed back upstairs to where Dom was, no doubt, still sleeping.
"Hey Mel," called Chris.
"What?"
"This won't happen again…I'm not sure what got in to me. Sorry."
I sighed and said, "It better not happen again, okay? I'll forgive you this time, though. Why don't you just go home for now?"
Taking a sip from the cool glass, I crept back to the bedroom. Sure enough, Dom's eyes were shut tight against the white pillows. That man could sleep through an earthquake, I thought to myself, smiling slightly. He hadn't moved since I left, so I gently pushed his arm to the side and closed my eyes, letting the combination of his smell, the cool breeze as his breath hit my neck, and the sound of a phone ringing in another room lull me to sleep.
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A/N: Who the hell calls people at 3 AM? Sounds ominous…