Nik followed the Porsche tight around the next turn that put them onto the main road. He then accelerated around the other one and was right on its tail. He accelerated harder and then slid around the next turn.

Nik still wasn't as comfortable with his 240 as he was with his FC. He and his FC had a bond but he had yet to build up a bond like that with the 240. He knew he had a bond with the car itself but he hadn't built up a bond with the car's spirit. He didn't find about the deeper connection until he had gone to Japan. The mountains will teach you the most interesting things…

Nik accelerated around the next hairpin turn and then made his way along the final uphill stretch. He pulled along side of the Porsche and looked over. He was surprised by who he saw as the driver. A chick…

-

Her eyes fell onto the driver of the 240 as she made her way up the uphill stretch. He had messy brown hair that almost reached his shoulders and hazel eyes. His eyes met with hers and they were locked until they heard the people screaming at the finish line.

She slowed down and pulled up next to all her other teammates. She stepped out and met the looks of all of her fellow racers. She was overwhelmed with questions of who he was. In all honesty, she was wondering too…

-

Nik smiled as he stepped out of his 240. He looked around and heard cheers all around. Then he heard one group cheer, "240! 240!" He smiled. He apparently was a driving legend around here. Behind him he saw the headlights of an old friend's car coming up.

He walked over and smiled, "You should have told me you were racing, I would have come to laugh at you."

Jesse stepped out of his car and looked at Nik, "Welcome home asshole."

Nik smiled and then heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw the girl who was in the Porsche standing behind him. She sighed and looked at Jesse, "So were agreed that we have control of the lake territory?"

Jesses smiled and shook his head, "You didn't win."

She looked surprised, "Yes I did, I beat you by at least twenty seconds. I beat the best on the lake so my team gets the territory."

Nik smiled, "You tied him actually."

She looked into his eyes, "Who the hell are you?"

"Hogashinu Nikorasu, people just call me Nik."

"Nik? So you're the Highland 240?"

Nik smiled, "Yup."

"Why did you decide to crawl out of your rock?"

Nik looked surprised. He almost fell. He looked back at her, "I haven't been hiding, I just have been in Japan. I came home for Christmas."

"Well, in that case I'm gonna race and beat you while you're still here. When?"

Nik shook his head, "I came back here to take a break from racing. No matter how much I miss my FC, I'm not gonna race."

"FC? You would race that outdated piece of crap?"

"You're a crazy chick. The FC is a…"

-SMACK!

Nik felt the full force of her hand as it made contact with his face. Nik's hand slid over his cheek as he rubbed it gently. His cheek was throbbing. That hurt. That had really hurt.

-

She sighed and walked away from him back over to her car. She turned around and saw him running over to her. What part of 'smack!' didn't he understand? She sighed and acknowledged his existence.

"What?"

"Why did you slap me?"

"Because I didn't want to get my mouth dirty by biting you."

"Huh?"

"I really don't like being called a chick."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, right…"

"What? I am."

She unlocked the driver's side door and stepped into her car, "In my experience, most men who say 'sorry' don't really mean it."

"I'm not most men."

She sighed and pulled out of the side of the road. She watched as he watched after her as she drove away from the starting line. His eyes were glued to her car apparently. What was with this moron?

-

Nik sighed and walked back over to Jesse, "Why is everybody leaving at 9:30?"

"Cops. There shift ends at 9:00 so that's when the roads are clear."

"Oh, so you guys race this early just to avoid the cops?"

"Yup, ain't like Japan out here."

"Yeah, hey, you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, meet me at the pizza place."

"Which one?"

"Luigi's, see you tomorrow!" Nik watched as his tires squealed as he pulled away. Nik looked after him. Luigi's? He had never heard about Luigi's. He sighed and walked over to 240. He almost opened the door when he realized something. No one noticed he wasn't wearing pants.

Nik smiled and drove home fast. It wasn't too far but he just wanted to get there. He pulled into the driveway next to his dad's Jeep and turned off the engine. He got out and walked inside to see his parents sitting and waiting for him. Nik smiled and waved as he walked past them and made his way up to his room. He then met the eyes of his brother.

Alex looked down at him as he turned off the TV with his remote. He hopped off the bed and looked at his brother, "You went to a race half naked without me?"

Nik smiled, "Apparently."

Al sighed and let him walk by him and get underneath his blanket. Nik closed his eyes and turned his head. He heard Al's bed squeak as he slid on top of it. Al's voice could be clearly heard two minutes later, "So how was the race?"

"Not bad, my old friend Jesses raced a cha... a girl from Black Roses."

"What cars?"

"Honda Integra and a Porsche 911 Carrera."

"Carrera won?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess, a girl was driving?"

Nik nodded, "Yup, I didn't catch her name though."

"Did she have big breasts?"

Nik kicked the upper bunk, "Don't talk about that kinda shit, be respectful."

Al sighed and waited a few seconds before he said, "Well?"

"They were alright."

"Maka or Miki?"

"I don't know."

Al spoke in an displeased tone, "Alright, don't tell me."

"Yeah, sure."

"Did she have a nice ass?"

Nik looked up at him, "Stop asking me what she looks like!"

"Why? Didn't you check her out?"

"Yes, she was hott, ok?"

"Ok, chill, god. You're acting like she's Hilary or something…."

"I know, it's weird…"

"Do you like her?"

"I don't know. She's cute but she hits fucking hard."

"She hit you?"

"Yup, straight across the face, smack."

Al whistled like he was impressed, "I like her."

"Yeah…"

Al rolled back onto his bed and Nik stared at his top bunk which had a picture of a WRX and a 350Z. What was with this girl? He meets some random girl, races her, ties her, gets slapped by her, and then she disses him by driving away and he can't get her mind off of her. What was with this girl?

-

What was with that guy? The entire way home she couldn't get him out of her head. What was with this? She had to stop thinking about him before she got home or she knew she would get questioned. She looked into her rearview mirror and stared at her own eyes. They were green.

She sighed and took a corner onto a barley visible side street and drove towards home. She pulled up to the apartment building and parked on the street. After locking her car, she walked inside and went up the stairs to her apartment. She hadn't seen her mom's car out front. That was a good sign…

She walked to her door and unlocked it while whispering, "Please don't be home, please don't be home, please don't be home…"

She opened the door and saw no one. She sighed with relief and smiled. She set her keys down on the center table. She sat on one of the stools that were on the bar-like kitchen table and sighed. What was with that guy?

"Kim, that you?"

She turned her head and met the eyes of her younger brother. She sighed, "Yeah, it's me."

He walked over and sat next to her, "How was your race?"

"Peachy."

"What happened?"

"It was a tie." She stood up and took off her black leather jacket.

"Oh, that sucks."

She shook her head, "Yeah, I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed. G'night D."

"Hey, Jason called; he said to call him back."

She cringed at the sound of her ex-boyfriends name. She sighed, "If I was him, I wouldn't expect a phone call any time soon."

She walked into her bedroom and slammed her door shut. She walked over to her CD player and put on a light CD she could listen to while she took her shower. She smiled and listened to the song for a minute before walking into her bathroom.

She turned on the water for her shower almost randomly and then she listened to it run for a minute with a smile on her face. She then backed away and slid her clothes off gently before stepping into the shower. She enjoyed the feeling of the slightly cold water as it ran down her body.

Her smile left her face as her thoughts wandered back to that guy. She leaned her body against the wall and let the water run off her as she stared into the foggy glass door that closed off her shower.

He didn't seem any different then any racer at first. But then when she talked to him he seemed calmer and less high strung then most of the guys she knew. And even before that, his eyes were deep. Really deep…

She finished her shower and shut off the water as she stepped out. She wrapped a towel around her body and then another one around her black hair that extended almost 2 inches below her shoulders. She walked out into her bedroom and found a blue hoodie and a black pair of pajama pants.

She threw her top sheet down to the bottom of her bed and slid in before she pulled it back up. She stared at her ceiling and shut off her light. The color changed from white to gray quickly.

She closed her eyes for a second but she couldn't get the look of his gaze out of her head. Three times she could remember him looking at her with the same gaze that she couldn't get out of her head. When she was neck and neck at the finish line, when he was talking like he was more than another guy, and then when she was driving away and his eyes were captured in her rearview mirror.

She heard a light knock on her door and saw a middle aged women walk in, "You ok Kim?

"Yeah Mom, I'm fine."

"How are things with Jason?"

"There no longer are any things with Jason."

"Really? Then what's with that hint of green in your eye?"

She blinked quickly and then sighed. Figures that her mother would now more about her then even she did, "Nothing, just a hint of green."

Her mom walked to her door before she said something, "What's his name?"

"Nik."

She saw her mothers cheeks raise as she walked out the door. Kim yawned and put her head back on her pillow. She stared up at her now dark ceiling and thought about him again. What was with this boy? Was it fate that she met him? She didn't know. All she knew was his name. Hogashinu Nikorasu. Nik…