The Fast and the Furious: Redline

Chapter Five
Popcorn

Taylor passed a soapy dish to Mia as Brian brought in the last of the dishes from outside.

"Need a hand with anything else?" Brian asked as he sat the dishes down.

Taylor wiped her hands on a towel and turned towards Mia. "You still need me?" she asked, wanting to give Mia and Brian some time alone.

Mia shook head no before answering Brian. "No, I'm good. You can go join the boys watchin' the movie."

Taylor stepped out of the kitchen with a smile on her face.

"What?" Leon asked as he pulled her down next to him.

"Nothing."

Leon wrapped an arm around Taylor as Vince walked into the kitchen to make more popcorn.

"So, what are y'all watching?" she whispered, trying not to disturb everybody else.

"Some Bruce Lee movie," Jesse said as he munched on the popcorn.

Taylor snuggled next to Leon before focusing on the movie. Martial arts movies weren't really her thing, but she decided to watch it any way.

"There's no popcorn?" Jesse asked.

Taylor looked at him in confusion. Vince stormed out of the kitchen with a look of rage displayed on his face.

"Make your own damn popcorn!" he yelled. Seconds later, the door slammed shut behind him.

Leon threw at piece of popcorn at Vince's back just before he walked out of the door. Taylor swatted his arm and then stood up, following Vince. She faintly heard Leon asking her to come back, but she ignored him. When she stepped outside, she quickly had to dodge a beer bottle, which hit the door behind her as it closed.

"Sorry," Vince mumbled. He began to pace around in the yard, kicking at bits of grass.

Taylor shook her head before walking up to him. He began to say several different obscenities. The night air was a bit chilly and she felt goose bumps decorating her arms.

"Stop it," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Vince's head snapped to the side. There was a look of pure hatred in his eyes. For a second, she felt afraid.

"Calm your ass down," Taylor said with a raised voice. "Just what the hell went on it there?"

"She's going on a date with the punk," Vince screamed, gesturing wildly at the house.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean, is that all? He's not good enough for her. Hell, I think he's a cop."

"A cop?" Taylor asked, attempting not to laugh.

"Yes, a cop!"

"Vince, where are you going to realize that she doesn't like you? I don't mean to be brutal, but someone has to say something. Brian and Mia are going to get together whether you like or not. You can do one of two things, suck it up and be happy for her or be miserable for the rest of your natural life…Which are you going to do?"

Vince stared at Taylor for a couple of seconds. He was stunned that Taylor had actually yelled at him like she had.

"Which is it, V?" she asked, not letting him get away from answering the question.

"I'll suck it up…for now. But the second he hurts her, I'll beat his punk ass to the ground. Deal?"

Taylor smiled. "Deal. Now get in there and make me some popcorn."

"Make you popcorn?" Vince asked, incredulously.

"Yes," she said with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. Vince noticed a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

"You think you can make orders like that, little girl?" Vince asked before he began to tickle her.

Leon stood up when he heard the laughter. As he opened the blinds, his heart sank to his knees. One though filled his mind, "What the?"

Taylor gasped for breath as Vince stopped his assault.

"I take it you're ticklish?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Very," she replied with a laugh.

Vince laughed and they both sat down on the front steps with their backs to the door. Leon cracked the door open slightly and listened to their conversation.

"So, you like Leon a lot?"

Taylor nodded. "I think there's some definite potential between us. He's different from anyone I've ever met, ya know? He's laid back and doesn't jump to any conclusions. I don't think I've seen him angry. That's one of those things that I love about him."

Vince elbowed Taylor lightly. "Do you love him?"

"That's hard to say. I've known him for about a month and I can't imagine ever living without him. However, he may not feel the same way."

"Don't worry, if he doesn't know, I think he will soon."

"You think?" Taylor asked, a bit unsure.

He nodded. "Definitely. How can someone not love you, Tay?"

She smiled. "You actually do have a heart, V!"

He chuckled. And said, "You tell anyone and I'll kill you. Hear me?"

"Aye, aye, Cap'n," Taylor replied with a mock salute.

Vince threw an arm around her shoulders and ruffled her hair.

"Quit it," she replied, giggling.

"Aw, do you want me to stop?" he asked, mocking her.

"Yes."

"Okay." Vince stopped messing with her hair and stood up from the steps before offering her a hand. Taylor accepted it and stood up.

Leon took a deep breath before opening the door all the way. Taylor smiled when she saw him. A stab of guilt hit Leon for thinking that she would like Vince.

"Sup, dog?" Vince asked before heading back inside. Needless to say, he was in a better mood than when he had walked out of the house earlier.

"Night, Cap'n," Taylor called after him.

"Night, Tay."

Leon stood on the front porch watching Taylor. Her hair was in disarray and her checks had a red tint to them.

"What's up?" she asked as she closed the gap between them. She placed her hands on his shoulders.

Leon smiled slightly and put his hands on her hips. "Nothing, just looking."

"Oh, that's good. See anything interesting?"

"As a matter of fact I do. I see this gorgeous girl, who goes by the name Taylor. Have you heard of her?"

Taylor pretended to think.

"I don't think I have," she said with a smile.

"You haven't? Well, that's a shame. I think you'd like her."

"I guess I'll have to meet her later."

"Yeah, you should definitely do that," he replied with a smile tugging at his lips.

"Well," Taylor said after a while. "What are we going to do till them?"

Leon smiled and kissed her on the lips. "I can think of a few things."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, but they don't involve us being in plain view of the whole neighborhood."

"That's good," Taylor replied, giggling.

"You think so? How 'bout we head downstairs for a while?"

"I like that idea."

"Me too," Leon said as they both walked into the house.

Taylor curled into her pillow as she heard Leon coming down the hall. Dom had stopped the couple from going down the stairs. He said that he needed to talk to Leon about something. Taylor merely shrugged it off and headed downstairs, but now that she was alone that was all that she could think about. Something big was going on and it seemed that everybody knew about it but her and Brian. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tighter around the pillow. Part of her wanted to ask him what was going on, but the other part told her that she shouldn't.

The door creaked open and Leon stepped into the room. A small smile crawled onto Taylor's lips as Leon crawled up to her from the end of the bed. He wrapped his arms around her frame and placed a light kiss on the spot right below her ear. Taylor rolled over and melted into him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, when he noticed that she was a little distracted.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking that's all."

"'Bout what?"

"You, of course," she replied with a wan smile, but Leon wasn't buying it.

"Baby, what is it really?"

Taylor sighed and put her head against his chest. "There's something I want to ask you, but I don't know if it's my place."

He pulled her closer to him and sighed. "You can ask me anything."

She moved her head and peered up at him. "What's goin' on? What were you and Dom talking about?"

Silence hung in the air. Taylor waited nervously for the answer. When Leon didn't speak, she sat up and walked out of the room. She didn't know why, but part of her was livid.

"Taylor…" Leon called out to her, but she was chose to ignore him. Curious looks were thrown her way when she walked into the living room.

"I'll be back later," she mumbled as she began to walk out of the front door. Leon entered the living room and called out her name. She looked at him one last time before shutting the door and heading out to her Celica.

Leon ran out of the house as she pulled out of the driveway and drove off. She was pissed, yet confused. Pissed because Leon didn't tell her, but confused because she didn't know if she had a right to be pissed.

An hour and a half later, she pulled into the driveway of the house that she used to share with Jarrett. There was a party going on so hopefully Jarrett wouldn't notice that she was there. Hopefully being the key word. Taylor took her shoes off in the car and walked down to the beach slowly. Her toes dug into the sand with each step she took. Memories came flooding back to her at full force.

Taylor giggled as Jarrett chased her down the stretch of beach in behind their house. Seconds later, she was tackled and hit the sand with a grunt.

"I love you," he whispered to her as he laid a kiss onto her stomach.

She ran her hands through his hair and sighed. "I love you too, baby."

The two lay in the sand for what seemed like hours. Taylor allowed a huge smile to appear on the face because she felt truly happy. It seemed at that moment that nothing could ever go wrong.

Three weeks later:

Taylor threw her keys down on the table beside the front door and shrugged off her purse.

"I'm home." She had just gotten back from shopping at the mall. It was six o'clock at night and the sun was just beginning to set.

When no answer came, she quirked an eyebrow and peered out the front window. Sure enough, Jarrett's car was parked in front of hers.

"Jarrett, baby?" she called out.

Slowly, she walked to the room that she and Jarrett shared. In their room, she found Jarrett resting peacefully on the bed. Taylor smiled and approached the bed, but stopped when she noticed another figure lying alongside Jarrett.

"You bastard," she whispered when Jarrett opened his eyes.

He sat up, a bit startled a being caught. "Sweetie, what are you doing home so early?"

Taylor glared at him, but said nothing.

He gathered the sheets around him and glanced over at the girl lying next to him. "She doesn't mean anything."

A laugh fell from Taylor's lips as she walked out of the room. Jarrett followed after her. He had ripped the sheet from the bed and it was now wrapped around him. "You've got to believe me."

Taylor turned suddenly. "Why?"

Jarrett froze in his spot and watched as tears fell from her eyes. "I…"

"Tell me the truth, J."

He sighed before turning his brown eyes toward her. "Because I don't love you anymore."

Taylor felt her heart sink. She didn't believe it. How could he say something like that?

"Wha-what are you saying?"

"Oh cut the crap, Taylor. You know exactly why this happened. You wouldn't give it up so I had to go and find someone who would. I need a woman that'll love me and screw me. Frankly, you're just not that person."

Taylor rushed forward and slapped him. "Bastard," she whispered before dashing out the back door. Her flip-flops coming off in the process.

"Miss me?" a voice called out once Taylor reached the water. She whipped around and came face to face with none other than Jarrett.

"In your dreams," she replied before attempting to walk off. Attempting being the key word.

Jarrett's hand snaked out and grabbed out of the wrist that was not in a cast. "Where ya goin' baby doll? You pissed off at you little boyfriend over at DT Automotive?"

Taylor glared at him. "You've been spying on me!" she screamed, incredulously.

An evil smirk came onto Jarrett's face. "Indeed I have."

"Stay the hell away from me."

Jarrett ran a hand through Taylor's hair. "Now why would I do that? You're more seductive and irresistible now that we're not together."

Taylor yanked her hand away from Jarrett. "Leave me alone," she hissed before she started to walk away.

"But don't you want to know what your boyfriend has been up to?"

She froze in her spot, but kept her back to him. "Go to hell."

Taylor ran up the beach and to her car. When she got in it, she locked it and laid her head on the steering wheel. She knew deep down that if she were to ever figure out what Leon was doing that she would want to hear it from Leon. Definitely not from Jarrett. Taylor took a deep breath before driving back toward the fort. What she would do once she got there, she had no clue.

When Taylor pulled into the fort's driveway, all lights in the house were out. A look at her clock on the dash told her that it was 1:24 in the morning. She climbed out of her car and walked up to the front door. With a twist of the wrist, she found the door unlocked. Silently, she thanked whoever left it unlocked and stepped into the house. She locked it behind her before walking toward the stairs that led to Leon's room. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she headed into Leon's room and found him sleeping. Her heart ached for him, but she was still a little angry. She bent down and scooped up a shirt that was lying by her feet. Taylor walked over to the closet and threw it into the dirty clothes hamper that laid at the bottom of it. Before she had a chance to turn around, a pair of arms wrapped around her and a pair of lips kissed the spot right below her ear.

"I'm sorry," Leon whispered to her.

Taylor sighed and turned around.

"If you want to know still, I'll tell you…"

She placed a finger on his lips and gave him a small smile. "I don't want to know anymore."

Leon quirked an eyebrow.

"It's none of my business. I shouldn't have gotten upset. I should be the one who's sorry, not you."

He kissed her lips and pulled her over to the bed.

"It's okay," he whispered as he laid down on the bed next to her.

Taylor sighed again and kissed his lips. A ghost of a smile was on Leon's face. "What?"

Leon couldn't help but laugh. "You look so cute when you're tired."

She rolled her eyes and laid her head on his chest. "Whatever," was the mumbled reply.

"You do," he insisted, however, there was no reply. Leon glanced down at Taylor and smiled when he saw that she was out like a light. He pulled the sheets up around them before drifting off to sleep as well.