"Come on, come in for a drink." Trynten's six foot three neighbor smiled handsomely at her. Lacie and Letty stepped off the elevator, Lacie holding Letty back, as to get in a listen to what was going on.

"I can't. I have to get goin. But thanks." Trynten smiled, heading to her door, wondering where her two new friends were.

"Thanks for what? You won't give me the time of day." He retorted, his pride obviously hurt but his ego acting the better part of him.

"Sorry, I have a boyfriend." Trynten shrugged, ignoring him. She hated egotistical jerks and this one was not an exception.

"And Mr. Man here, has a girlfriend." Letty walked up, scowling as she caught Trynten and the guy off guard.

"No, Letty, HAD a girlfriend." Lacie said, her eyes boring holes into her supposed boyfriend.

"AW, that's not right." Patch shook his head, looking sly.

"Come on, T, let's get you packed and let them work out the divorce." Letty laughed, making Trynten look confused.

"They're married?" Trynten asked after getting inside her somewhat empty condo.

"No, I was bein a smart ass. You could learn a thing or two, you being a Hollywood hotshot." Letty grinned, making Trynten laugh.

"I am so not a Hollywood anything." Trynten smiled and went back to fiddling with her answering machine.

"My ass." Letty scoffed, looking around to see pageant ribbons and trophies, tiaras, and pictures of herself with other Hollywood Jetsetters. "What'ya call all this?" She asked, touching one of the Miss Oklahoma sashes she was closest too.

"A memory." Trynten nodded, writing down one of the number s left on her machine.

"You musta been through some shit to come out with that attitude." Letty reasoned.

"Guys are asses, I see why so much of the female population is lesbian." Lacie walked in, making Letty and Trynten both look at her." Just kidding, guys. Really." Lacie laughed, looking in awe a the decorations Trynten and Letty had been talking about earlier.

"Were you bullshittin or you really go t a man?" Letty asked, plopping down on the worn couch that was a tan color.

"I do. His name is Fred." Trynten hesitated with her answer.

"Fred? Is he like imaginary?" Lacie teased as Trynten searched for some liquor.

"No, he's real. Just gone a lot." Trynten promised, then sat down. "I can't believe I have to be out by tomorrow. NO way in hell can I believe I let it get this far." She sighed, looking almost sad.

"Knock, knock. We heard Miss Oklahoma needed some help getting her stuff outta here." Leon knocked on the door, pushing it open a crack.

"You called the guys?" Trynten asked, her face turning red as she looked at Lacie and Letty.

"Well, we ain't moving the shit ourselves." Letty rolled her eyes.

"I didn't expect you guys to move it at all." Trynten admitted, feeling like these people were being too nice. She wasn't used to nice people, she wasn't used to people really at all.

"So, we came anyways." Jesse grinned, his eyes taking in the stuff Lacie and Letty had noticed right as they had entered. Her living room was huge, though only a fraction of it was decorated, if you could call it that. Most of her stuff, the tiaras, sashes, trophies, and stuff looked as though it had been thrown up there and left to rot with the dust bunnies. He scanned her condo, then turned red seeing Letty watch him, knowing she knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

"Where should we start?" Leon asked, as Brian walked in, red faced. Letty gave Leon a confused look and shrugged.

"I just got to get this stuff in boxes and I'm done. I have a hotel that is pretty close to you guys." Trynten said, unhooking some wires from her play station.

"Hotel? Close to us? You mean motel." Vince corrected her, then grinned at her as she nodded.

"you're right. I still use Oklahoma terms." She laughed, not at all smart or irritated with him as most were when they heard his corrections. He was often mistaken on how he was just by first impressions and without anyone getting to know him first.

"Where's Dom?" Letty asked, putting a carefully wrapped tiara in it's case. She was afraid her rough, mechanic hands would break it. She was far from ever being pretty and princess like that and she found it odd this girl didn't realize what it was she had. She gave discredit to everything. She had never grownup with a chance to experience any of that, where she came from, you were lucky to graduate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You sure you're cool if I come with you all to race wars?" Trynten asked Dominic three weeks later as he worked shirtless on a Honda civic before the shop closed up for the whole next week.

"I don't care. Just know you are on your own and no distracting my boys when they race." Dominic said, not glancing at her as he continued to work. Trynten had made it a daily routine to hang out at the shop during the day and in between job hunting. He was starting to be civil to her and not so gruff and she was starring to feel like the crew was her friends.

"I'm tellin ya, you can't run it unless you change that." Jesse walked in, shaking his head as he talked to Hector, who was following him inside.

"Easy, esse. I won't run it if it don't get fixed." Hector grinned, then nudged Jesse. "She's hot. Can I get an intro?" He asked, looking at her as she stood with her back to the two.

"Good luck. She's dating someone." Jesse shrugged, knowing himself he wished she wasn't.

"Hector, you gonna stand there and bullshit or you gonna come and help me with your car?" Dominic looked up from the hood as he took a break to take a drink of his Pepsi.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm comin." Hector laughed, rolling his eyes and walking over. He stuck out his hand to Trynten. "I'm Hector. And you are?" he asked, shaking her hand pretty fast and hard, making her laugh.

"A little hyper are we?" She asked, holding the clipboard Dominic handed her.

"A name would be nice." Hector continued his quest.

"Trynten." She nodded, looking as Letty and Vince pulled up, the car engines roaring.

"You always here lately." Vince walked in, grinning as though he was up to something. When he grinned and was in a truly good mood, it seemed as though he was up to something.

"Hey, I can leave. I thought I was helping so I could cut you guys some slack and off Dom's list, but hey, I can leave." Trynten laughed, starting for the door.

"You can come with me." Hector nodded, making her roll her eyes. "I gotta a shop that needs some hired help." He said with a grin, holding out his hands to usher her to the door.

"If you got a shop, you must need a mechanic and I'm not qualified for that." Trynten replied, thinking quick on her feet. Letty and Jesse ohh'd.

"Why you say that?' Hector asked, putting his hands over his heart as though hurt or shot.

"You got your car in this shop." Trynten laughed.

"Very assertive, this girl. That's why we keep her 'round." Letty laughed, high- fiving her. The two walked into the office, leaving the guys alone to talk.

"You seen Lace lately?" Trynten asked, perching herself on the desk. Letty shook her head.

"You are such the beauty queen." She rolled her eyes and said in a teasing tone. She found it funny that even the littlest things, Trynten acted differently than the rest of the crew. She didn't just sit on the top of the desk, she sat perched, her body straight. "We gotta work on you." She shook her head, earning a look of shock from Trynten.

"I'm so hurt." She said, putting her hands over her heart and acing like she was shot, mocking Hector. The two busted up laughing. They were interrupted by Letty's cell phone ringing and she answered it, frowning as she answered it with a 'yeah'.

Hey T, can you keep Dom occupied for me?" Letty asked, her eyes hopeful as she stared at a scoffing Trynten.

"How would I keep him busy? It's not like he won't notice you gone." Trynten rolled her eyes, noticing how Letty had been disappearing more and more and that Trynten was often left wit trying to explain her whereabouts when even she didn't know what was going on.

"Just tell them I went to get stuff for tonight." Letty said, her voice pleading. Trynten looked doubtful.

"You worry me." Trynten admitted and then looked at her friend in concern.

"I'm fine. Better than fine, really." Letty laughed. "So, yes, you'll cover for me?" She asked, nodding her head yes to make Trynten do the same. Trynten sighed. More often than lately she had become the relayer that Letty had 'something to do' or what ever the case was. She was always the one to tell Dominic and though he never yelled at her, she could tell he wanted to.

"Thanks Strawberry shortcake. I owe ya one." Letty grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

"Don't call me that." Trynten pointed at her in warning. The name had stuck thanks to Lace and now they all called her shortcake or strawberry shortcake. "An d you owe me Huge." She added as Letty neared the door, still grinning.

"Yeah yeah. Later shortcake." She said, ducking as Trynten threw a wadded up piece of paper at the door, barely missing her. Trynten's' phone rang and every time it did ring, she was hopeful it was someone calling for her to read a script. This was Letty calling.

"You're on my list. What do you want?" Trynten asked, though smiling.

"Tell them I'll be back before we head out. Dom likes to go in a certain kind of way and he might get bitchy if I don't let him know that much." Letty said as she put on her sunglasses and pulled out.

"Gee, thanks for saving part of my arm. You know I'm gonna loose my head already when he snaps, right?" Trynten asked, frowning as she jumped off the desk and walked out, phone on her ear.

"Where's your compadre?" Leon asked, looking at Trynten.

"Where's yours?" She joked, meaning Vince, Jesse, or Brian. She just felt like being a smart ass. He looked at her in shock that she would even joke so smartly. She had been pretty quiet and withdrawn and even more since Lace had left to take a business trip.

"Yo, shortcake, you gonna help me out or what?" Dominic barked, making her good mood kind of disappear behind a cloud. She didn't get why Letty was leaving her to him and in his company so much. Something didn't add up and she was worried.

"yeah, I'm right here." Trynten sighed, grabbing the clipboard.

"Tell Letty I need her to get the keys to unlock the Nos, would ya?" He asked, still working on Hectors car as he talked. Hector circled Trynten, his eyes on her as he did so. Then he nodded.

"Yeah, you know you want me." he scratched his chin and grinned.

"Please, if I wanted you, I woulda already told you." Trynten lied through her teeth, trying to ignore him and figure out how to tell Mr. Temper his own girlfriend had left without telling him, yet again. It woudla been ok if it had only been a few times.

"Trynten, NoS! Letty! Come on. We leave in two hours. I had to move the time up as it is so can we get a move on it?" He asked, stopping to look at her.

"Where's your keys?" She asked, taking a deep breath and trying to not tell him off. He was wearing on her nerves to a degree.

"Where she at?" He put down the wrench.

"Went to the store to get some last minute things." Trynten said, as Dominic walked to his office.

"Letty doesn't do the store much so it had to be important." Dominic called over his shoulder, locking himself in the office after that.

"Way to go, Chica." Hector clapped sarcastically.

"Better stop." She slapped him. She looked at Leon not sure of what to do now.

"He'll be okay. This is the normal before race wars." Leon came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders to make her relax.

"Great. Tell Lace to come home." Trynten laughed.

"I second that order." Brian walked in, grinning. He was rough looking and dressed to do some work.

"You know you like her, man." Hector snapped his fingers as though I told you so.

"Shshh. That is her friend you're being all loud mouth in front of." Brian punched him playfully.

"Just cause you white boys can't take being upfront and straight up." Hector punched him back, earning a whatever from Brian.

"And your kind can't take no for an answer, right?" Trynten asked, smiling. Brian looked at her and had the same shocked look she had managed to get out of Leon.

"She slammed you, bro. Fair and square." Brian shrugged, getting to work on his engine of his car that had been parked there earlier in the day.

"Yeah, she likes to hurt the male species can tell." Hector sniffled and hung his head. Trynten looked at the office door, truly concerned for Dominic. They had become good friends, as had she and the rest of the crew and she finally felt like she was at peace with her life, acting career or not.