The walk through South End was as monotonous and nerve-racking as ever. To walk in the shadows of defunct and crumbling buildings, hearing the sounds of animals skittering in the dark spaces between buildings, it was always so uncomforting. Sure, Jaune had to deal with that sort of thing back home, but those animals were always more distant. They weren't much fans of human company.

Eventually, abandoned storefronts gave way to flourishing stores of Central, filled to the brim by customers of all shapes and sizes. The previously empty streets of South End shifted to suffocating sidewalks, positively packed with bodies. The only thing Jaune could say that he liked about Central was that he was less likely to get robbed.

But just because there was one nice thing about Central didn't mean that his complaints were absent, he had a list. There were too many people, it was loud, it felt cramped, his sense of smell was overloaded by different pastry stores, donut shops, flower stands, he could go on. But his biggest complaint, at least for now, was that his feet hurt.

However, whatever further grievances he might have shared soon died as Turq's Auto Parts came into view. Shuffling through the wave of bodies, as soon as the door to the shop came into reach, Jaune grabbed hold of the handle as if it was his only lifeline. Although, in his case, it probably was.

The blond boy took a moment to breathe, in through the nose, out through the mouth. He repeated the process again, then again, before finally pulling the door open. As he stepped inside the store, the smell of freshly vulcanized rubber bombarded his nose as the familiar scent of oil trailed not far behind.

Shelves lined the white walls, absolutely stacked with goods. Tools, oils, parts, the works. Jaune couldn't keep his eyes from wandering, his hands subtly twitching at the thought of getting as many parts as he could. Plus, a spare 10mm socket wouldn't hurt.

The boy walked along the aisles as he browsed the selection. Despite how organized the store might have looked at a glance, the shelves sort of reminded Jaune of his toolbox. Disorganized, messy, and difficult to navigate. However, much like his toolbox, after a bit of searching, he found exactly what he was looking for.

There were tons of neat little tools that piqued his interest, but he couldn't even afford most of them. The kinds of tools that made him think. Oh, what does this do? What's that supposed to be? How does this work? And so on.

Considering how heavily his curiosity weighed on him, he was surprised he didn't just start picking things out at random. Granted, he didn't have the means to pay, but he could dream!

Walking through one of the many aisles, he found shelves covered from top to bottom in plastic, dull-colored bottles. Each of the bottles had a different classification to them, following a number system. The ones that stood out to him were NOOT three, NOOT four, and- NOOT five point one?

Jaune blinked to himself as he mindlessly grabbed the bottle of brake fluid. Why was it five point one? Why not just five? His eyes trailed over the label as he hoped to understand what made it so special. Then he saw it.

The boiling point.

"500 degrees?!" The words spat from his mouth with reckless abandon, his mind racing to catch up with them. That was 100 degrees higher than NOOT three, and that fact alone sent his mind into a spiral. With a minimum boiling point so high, brake times would be more reliable! Goodbye, squishy brakes!

His blue eyes sparkled as he took in a deep breath, the smell of oil putting his soul at ease. What a wonderful time to be alive. He lived in an era where he could go fast on command, supposing he kept his car operable, of course.

Then he checked the price.

Jaune wasn't sure what it was, but something died inside of him as he stared at the price tag. He could have sworn he heard something shatter. No, wait, that was just his heart. "60 Lien, huh?" He muttered, quietly laughing as he put the gray bottle back in its place. Could he have afforded it? Maybe. But considering his day-to-day living expenses, he would rather not.

From the corner of his eye, he saw another dull bottle, the words NOOT three plastered on the cover. The price itself was acceptable for the product, being worth 15 Lien. Still, the blond couldn't help but feel like he was settling.

Jaune sighed as he placed the gray bottle in his basket before walking through the rest of the aisle. So what if he didn't have the best brake fluid, it wasn't like he needed it anyway. Yeah, who needed cool brake fluid? Not him. Nope, not at all.

Aside from that, Jaune only picked up the rest of the necessities for his repair. A hose to flush out the master cylinder when he put the new one in. Granted, he still had one final component that he needed before going home, but it felt good knowing that he was already close.

As he walked to the check-out with his basket, he found a dark skinned man with vibrant blue eyes, more akin to the morning sky than anything else. A white name tag was clipped to his red, button-up shirt, the name 'Turq' neatly written on the tag.

Setting his basket on the counter, Jaune gave the older man a relaxed smile. "Morning, Turq." He started, hoping to come off as polite. "You mind ringing these up for me?"

Despite not actually knowing Turq, the blond boy knew enough about him to recognize that he was a decent shop owner. He never screwed him with a bad price, never conned him, and frankly, he was nothing like the merchants on the frontier.

The older man smiled behind the bushy, black caterpillar that covered his upper lip. "Sure thing," Came his easy going reply, pulling the only two items from his basket before quickly scanning them. That was another thing Jaune hadn't gotten used to yet, the constant scanning and beeping that came from shopping. "Just this?"

"Actually, I was hoping you might have a brake master cylinder for a Celica." Jaune leaned his arms against the counter, a cold feeling traveling up the side of his forearms. "Don't suppose you've got any lying around, do you?"

He watched the older man's brows disappear behind his hairline, a low whistle coming from his lips. "One of those things is still driving around?" Turq asked, and honestly, Jaune couldn't blame him. He nodded. "Sorry, kid. I can order one for you in a few nights, but it might cost extra."

The Arc clenched his teeth before letting out a breath, "I need one sooner than that." Jaune tried to keep his aggravation in check, but he was sure he failed to do that.

The dark-skinned man let out a sigh as he shook his head, "Listen, I'd help if I could, but I can't just make one pop out of thin air." Turq started, setting his hands on the counter. "But, and this is a really big but. If you need a Celica brake cylinder that badly, there's a shop out in West Bank that's probably selling one."

Jaune couldn't stop himself from dragging a hand down the side of his face. Great, yet another 40 minute walk to subject himself to. Oh well, it wasn't like there were any other options. "Do you have an address for me? Maybe a number to call?" He asked. See, his first mistake was walking all the way to Central without calling ahead of time.

The blond could have saved a whole trip if he checked if they had it in stock, but no, he had to be stupid.

Turq disappeared from behind the counter, dipping into a back room before emerging with a pen and paper. The older man scribbled away at the piece of paper before setting it forward. The words Skye's Mechanics messily scribbled onto the sheet, a scroll number and address jotted down beneath the name.

Oh well, he did all he could.

Jaune paid for his things, thanked the older man for his help, and marched off with a plastic bag full of the goods he needed. His feet still ached, but he set his discomfort aside. He marched under the shadows of towering skyscrapers, bobbing and weaving between gaps in the waves of bodies as he slogged towards the west end of town.

The sun shined brightly, his eyes having trouble peering past the incandescent light as he moved through the crowds. Come to think of it, a pair of sunglasses wouldn't have hurt at that moment.

Central's towering buildings shrunk the further he moved away from them, turning to more modest structures of two to three stories. Buildings composed of dark glass panes turned to red, sturdy bricks, crackless and dry. Vegetation seemed more concentrated the closer he got to the west end of Vale, the smell of the sea filling the air around him. He could hear the sounds of seagulls calling obnoxiously to their flocks as a fishy scent grew stronger with every step.

Though he had to admit, despite his generally poor mood, the sight of the ocean carelessly bobbing was always calming. It reminded Jaune of better times, strange as it might sound. The thought of running around and playing in the creeks outside of his home put a small smile on his face. His pleasant memories didn't banish his aggravation, but it helped nullify it, if only a little.

After his long trek across the city, he once again found what he was looking for. A sign hung above the store, tucked away on a narrow street with few people walking the sidewalks. Skye's Mechanics. There were a lot of auto parts places named after people, come to think of it. Then again, maybe that was just a Vale thing?

He didn't bother with the formalities of visiting a new store for the first time. Jaune didn't have the time or patience to stand around and smell the tires. All he wanted to do was get home, put his new master cylinder in, and lounge around until he had to work.

However, as he walked deeper into the store, hoping to saunter over to the desk and ask for his part, he heard the sounds of hushed bickering. Turning the corner of a shelf made way for the check-out desk, a girl with long flowing, blonde hair stood in front of it. Her fingers rapidly tapped against the surface in front of her as her lips curled to the side.

The blonde girl took a deep breath as she closed her lilac eyes. "Listen, my bike's got a bit of a bastardized engine, but it's got the parts from a Victory, some cobbled together Harleysons, and some bits from a Giocava. Just get me my connecting rod so I can go." Her voice was as sharp as a dagger, speaking through gritted teeth.

The poor fellow behind the counter raised a brow as he stared back at the impatient girl, "Can that thing even run when it's that cobbled together?"

As Jaune quietly shuffled towards the front desk, he watched the buxom girl's eyebrow twitch. "I built the damn thing! I think I'd know if it works!" She yelled, her brows knitting together as a crease formed on her forehead.

The worker behind the desk only deadpanned, "I need to go speak with my manager." Came his monotonous reply, which only served to send the blonde into a deeper state of annoyance.

Jaune heard her let out a groan as she tugged at her hair, watching as the employee walked through a door behind him. This left the driver at a bit of an impasse. See, he knew a very specific thing about women, and that's the fact that they're very difficult to deal with when angry. Now, that wouldn't sound so bad if he didn't have to stand next to a deeply annoyed, albeit pretty girl.

So Jaune did what he always did when put in an awkward position. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, pretended he didn't see anything, and hoped he didn't have to deal with anything dumb.

And for a while, it worked. The girl in front of him was minding her own business, he didn't do anything that might catch her attention, it was great. However, to his dismay, he watched as she turned her head to face him.

"Talk about bad service, right?" She rhetorically asked, leaning against the counter as a smile tugged at her lips. "I swear, every time I come down here, someone's always got something to say. You know what I mean?"

Jaune could only awkwardly chuckle, "Can't say I do." He started, giving a shaky smile as he stared back at the buxom blonde. "I've never been here, so I can't really give a critique. But if what just happened to you is the standard, I'm not excited."

The blonde girl snickered as a smirk pulled on her cheeks, "Trust me when I say that this place kind of blows. The only reason I keep coming here is because it's the closest to where I live. That, and I save on dust costs."

Yay, dust costs.

Truth be told, Jaune wasn't very enthused by the idea of putting dust in a car. It didn't really make sense to him, but to be fair, he never tried to make sense of it. Besides, why use dust when ethanol-based fuels work fine?

Though he could agree with one thing. "Paying less for fuel is always good." Gosh, what the hell was he talking about? This was such a weird conversation. Better question, what was he doing talking to a girl so far out of his league again?

He heard the womanly blonde next to him let out a hum as a single brow rose on her face. "So, Blondie, what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" First off, Blondie? She was blonde too, wasn't she? Jaune took a moment to stare at her hair, blinking to see if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Nope, she was still blonde. Second off, what else would he be doing at an auto parts store?

"Oh, you know, just trying to buy a master cylinder for my car." Maybe this conversation would do him some good? After all, it wasn't like he talked a whole lot as it were. "The last one started wearing out on me to the point where my brake gave out. Had to glide down a hill and use my handbrake before hitting a busy crossroad last night. So, that was… fun."

Lilac eyes danced with curiosity, crossing her arms as she pushed herself off the counter. "It was storming pretty bad last night, or at least it was on Patch. I can't imagine that made it any easier." For the first time in a while, Jaune could happily say that such a problem didn't affect him.

The blond boy let his arms rest on the desk as he let the coolness of the surface wash up his forearms. "Actually, I got home a little before the storm. I guess I'm lucky that my home's so close to work, you know?" At worst, it was maybe a 10 minute drive, and a 30 minute walk. "Wait, Patch? Like the island?"

The girl smiled harder, running a hand through her blonde locks as she kicked the floor beneath her, "Yep, that's the one. Pretty great place to live in if you're a geriatric or retiree. However, I'm neither of those, but I didn't have to tell you that." She jokingly remarked, and she was right, he most certainly could tell. As a matter of fact, there were a whole two- No! Bad!

Jaune made sure to maintain eye contact as he nodded, "Your youthful personality gave it away." He snipped, chuckling to himself soon after. Well, despite the fact that he didn't know her, he was having a bit of fun. "What about you? What's a pretty girl like you doing in an auto parts shop?"

The blonde girl laughed as she leaned her back against the counter, "Oh, you know, just looking to replace the connecting rod on my bike. Started giving out on me a few nights ago, and since I'm about to start heading to school soon, I figured it might look cool. You know, a pretty blonde girl riding a kickass bike. What's not to love?"

Jaune paused as he stared at the girl. She wore a khaki jacket that cut off at her midriff with a yellow shirt underneath it, along with black compression shorts and a belt around it. He wasn't sure if she looked cool, but she certainly looked confident in herself. That had to count for something, right?

"I mean, you look cool enough, I think." His words stammered as his eyes quickly glued themselves to hers. He just realized what he did might've counted as checking her out, but didn't mean it! She probably noticed too. "A car, or in your case, a bike doesn't make someone cool. It's more about how someone presents themselves, you get me?"

He watched as the playful blonde quirked a brow, her smirk growing wider, "Do you compliment every girl you meet at a parts store, or am I just one of the lucky ones?" Jaune struggled to keep his laugh in check, but he managed. Barely.

"I can't say I know a lot of girls that come to parts stores, so yeah, you're kinda lucky. Or maybe I'm the lucky one?" He kinda felt lucky. After all, he got to hang out and talk to a pretty blonde girl about parts and stuff. That was cool.

Jaune felt the back of her slap his shoulder, a soft laugh coming from the pretty blonde next to him, "You sure know how to make a girl feel special." Her voice filled with mirth, whether it was because she was teasing him or actually felt complimented, he couldn't tell. He settled on the former, if only because it was easier on his mind.

The only son of the Arc family knew well enough where this train of conversation was going. His sisters would always tease him about something, and that would eventually lead to them poking and prodding at his insecurities. It didn't help that the pretty blonde reminded him of his sisters either. His only solution was simple.

A shift of conversation.

The blue-eyed boy cleared his throat for a moment, trying to rid himself of the itchy feeling. "Right, well, you mentioned something about needing to switch out your con-rod, right? How'd you damage it?" He asked.

Jaune watched as the buxom girl tilted her head, curling a brow as she stared at him with confused eyes. "How'd you figure I damaged it?" Honestly? It was more of a gut feeling than anything.

The boy gave an honest smile. "Lucky guess."

The khaki-clad girl let out a deep sigh, her head drooping forward as she crossed her arms. "It was something stupid. A couple of fancy rich kids wanted to go on a little chase, so I gave my bike the sauce. It kinda bit me later when I heard this pretty little knocking sound." Jaune couldn't help but wince at the mention of rattling. "When I got back home, I ripped the crankcase off and found the cylinder two rod in a pretty little S shape."

Now it was Jaune's turn to sigh, letting his forehead rest on his arms. "That must've sucked." He muttered.

An awkward smile graced the face of the troubled blonde. "No more than going full-speed down a hill with no brakes, right?" When she put it like that, it didn't make Jaune feel quite as bad.

Eventually, the clerk behind the counter did show back up, his manager in tow. Jaune wasn't really paying too much attention to the back and forth between the blonde girl and the clerk, but eventually they got her part. Though it took a lot of complaints from her, at least it was funny to witness.

Thankfully, his situation didn't take nearly as long as hers, picking up the master cylinder and paying the appropriate lien for it. He stuffed the master cylinder in the bag that carried all of the other essentials he needed before stuffing the plastic bag in his hoodie pocket. It was a blessing how big his hoodie pockets were.

With his things in tow, he stepped outside of the parts store. The world felt a little brighter, the sun's rays felt warmer, and the autumn wind brushed gently against his skin. Despite paying for so much in such a short amount of time, life felt a little better. Soon enough, he'd be able to go home and fix his car.

Although, just as he started to walk down the street, following the map on his scroll, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind him. His heart pounded against his chest as potential danger filled his mind. Turning to look behind him, he was surprised to find a slim hand resting on his shoulder, a pair of lilac eyes staring into deep blue orbs.

"Hey, Blondie." The equally blonde girl said, and Jaune couldn't help but knit his brows together. "Don't suppose you've got room for one more in your day, do you?"

"Uh," he stupidly replied. What else was he supposed to say? He didn't even know her and she was asking to be a part of his day. How was she going to ask someone that when she didn't even know his name? "Why?"

Jaune heard the girl let out a hum as she curled her lip to the side, watching as she shrugged. "I don't know. I'm bored, and you're fun to talk to, so as far as I'm concerned, you seem pretty alright." The blond boy's heart only pounded harder, not out of fear, but anxiety.

"Don't get the wrong idea, but don't you think that's a little sketchy? I mean, you don't even know my name. Who's to say that I'm not some dicey guy?" He wasn't, but he wanted to prove a point. The blonde seemed alright too, but if this was something she did often, then she was going to find herself in trouble some day. The way she dressed didn't help either.

Not to say that he thought the way she dressed was bad, but it could attract the wrong kind of attention.

The blonde girl paused as she stared at Jaune, only for a snicker to slip from her lips. "I guess you've got a point." The blond boy couldn't help but sigh as his shoulders slumped. Before he could thank whatever omnipotent being was looking out for him, he felt a hand wrap around his, firmly shaking it. "I'm Yang, nice to meet ya."

Jaune blinked once, then twice, and finally thrice, his heart stopping all motion. All he could do was shake his head, his brows curling upwards. "I'm Jaune, pleasure's mine." He resigned himself to fate, whatever it meant for his near future.

The sight of Yang smiling only left Jaune further concerned, "Sweet, now we both know each other!" A fist pumping into the air as she leaned against his shoulder. "So, you said something about changing out a master cylinder, right? Isn't that a two person job?"

As the blonde girl's hand slipped away from his hand, he couldn't stop himself from dragging his hands down his face. This girl was something else. "It is, but I can-" A calloused finger pressed against his lips, Yang's eyes dancing with glee.

"Sounds to me like you need a helping hand, Jaune, and it just so happens that I'm free all day. So do a girl a solid and let me help you work on your car?" A pleading smile stretched across her face as she stepped closer to him, grabbing at his hands before wrapping them in hers. He tried to take a step backwards, if only to put some distance, but she only cleared it again. He'd repeated the process twice more, only to be thwarted twice over.

Her eyes sparkled with joy as she stared up at him, her bright smile only serving to remind him of his weakness. He knew what that look meant, far more than he had any right to. It was the look of a girl who had something to gain at his expense. His sisters used to do it too, typically when they'd ask him for help with homework or house chores. So that begged the question. What was Yang hoping for?

Jaune held eye contact for what he felt was longer than socially acceptable, but the buxom blonde only smiled harder. A sigh slipped from his lips as his shoulders slumped forward. "I've got nothing to lose. Sure, why not?" That wasn't entirely true. He had plenty to lose. As a matter of fact, as messed up as it sounded, Yang could've been some kind of plant for a criminal to get her eyes on his car. Then, in the middle of the night, whatever group she's working with could steal it from under his nose.

Was his dream messing with him?

Probably.

Yang let out a gremlin-like laugh as she threw an arm over his shoulder, "Sweet! Now then, let's go and work on your car before it gets too late. I've gotta be home in a few hours or Dad'll kill me." Some part of him wanted to laugh at the Dad comment, but he really wasn't sure what to feel. He got to pick the parts he needed today, but it was at the expense of being around someone he didn't know for however long it took to fix his car.

Sure, Yang was pretty, but just because she was pretty didn't mean he was comfortable being around her. "Alright, well buckle down for a decent walk, but my place is in the Southern district." To her credit, she didn't seem all too fazed by the prospect of visiting the South End.

So, Jaune led the way towards his apartment, the sturdy brick structures of West Bank leaving way for the dilapidated structures that he'd grown somewhat accustomed to. It was nothing like home on the frontier, but he'd gotten used to that. On the bright side, Yang was a pretty decent conversationalist, picking up the slack that he let fall. So at least he enjoyed himself in that department.

Truth be told, it wasn't Yang's company itself that Jaune was uncomfortable with, but the fact that she just popped up out of nowhere and started following him around. He was probably just overthinking things, and he was, but it still bothered him. It didn't help that he lived in some of the more dangerous parts of town, but still.

When they finally got to his crummy apartment complex, Jaune once again found himself surprised by the apathy displayed by the pretty blonde. He wasn't sure whether he could chalk it up to her just being around the South End before, or just not caring at all. But what he did know was that he was glad to be close to his apartment.

"So, which one's yours again?" Yang asked, following behind him as slogged through the parking lot. His feet ached, his legs burned, and frankly, he needed to walk more.

There weren't very many cars in the parking lot, only a small handful. But compared to his Celica, they were all beaters. Sure, his car may have been old, and there might have been a bit of rust on it, but the other cars in the lot were in a state of further disrepair. If his car ever got to that state, Jaune would just throw himself off the tallest building he could find.

The blond boy let out a breath as he pointed to his car. "That one over there." He watched as her lilac eyes followed his finger, only for them to widen as she whipped her head back towards him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" His ears rang at the suddenness of her voice, watching as she once again violated his personal space. "You mean the Pre-War Celica? I didn't think people still drove around in those anymore!" Why was that always the first thing people had to say about his car? He wouldn't mind if they called it a hunk of junk, just so long as they weren't surprised it was still around.

The blond boy's hand came to rest on the back of his head, letting out an awkward chuckle. "Yep, that one's mine. I know it's a bit of a beater, but it still-"

"Don't give me that!" Yang cut him off, her hands resting on his shoulders before lightly shaking him. "How'd you even get one of these? They stopped making them after the Great War! Are you the son of some old collector or something?" Alright, that made him laugh.

"Something like that." He nonchalantly replied. No, the truth was much simpler than that. "My Gramps runs this junkyard out on the frontier, and when someone wants something scrapped, they send it his way." He could still see the place now. It was dirty, smelled bad, rust was everywhere, and there were parts ripe for scavenging.

Man, he missed the junkyard.

The carefree girl let out a hum as she let her hands fall from his shoulders. "That makes sense, I guess. Wait, no it doesn't! Who in their right mind would throw away a perfectly good Celica?"

The driver only snickered to himself as he kept walking towards his car with Yang in tow. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but it's not exactly in peak condition." He jokingly replied, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "It took a lot of work just to get it here, and it takes even more to make sure it runs. Honestly, I can see why someone wanted to scrap it."

He felt a fist harshly collide with his shoulder, his hand instinctively coming to rub at the sore spot. "You shut your mouth! This car is beyond classic! I mean, sure, it's probably a grumpy old man, but what old man isn't grumpy?"

Rather than paying her any mind, stepped in front of his car, popped the hood, and got to work. Of course, he had to step inside of his apartment to fish out his tools, but at least Yang didn't rob him, so that was a start. Essentially, he got his tools, grabbed an empty bottle, drained his old master cylinder, swapped it out with the new one, and dumped the new brake fluid he bought into it.

It was fairly routine, all things considered. Though, it came with the added bonus of Yang constantly asking about what parts did what. He didn't particularly mind. As a matter of fact, he actually enjoyed answering.

As it turned out, Yang didn't really know much about how cars themselves worked, but she knew more than her fair share of bikes. By contrast, Jaune had extensive knowledge of cars with some trivia knowledge of bikes. It made for a neat conversation, standing next to the hood of his car as they went back and forth.

Of course, that begged the question. With all the work that he put into today, walking halfway across the city to two separate stores, did his car work? Well, it was something he wanted to find out.

As he opened his driver side door, sitting in his seat, he couldn't stop himself from wrapping his left hand around the steering wheel. His heart pounded as he brought his keys up from his pocket, his hand slightly shaking as he slowly brought it to the ignition. His keys docked with a click, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Yang leaning against his car. A wide smile threatened to split her face in two as she brought two thumbs up.

Jaune took a deep breath, let his stress rest on his mind for a second longer, with an exhale, letting it all go to the wind.

With a turn of the key, his engine roared to life, a familiar rumbling feeling trailing up his arms and legs. All there was to check now was to see if his foot hit the floor if he tapped the brake. Some part of that thought was a little scary, because if it wasn't the brake master cylinder, then it was probably something smaller. Or, God forbid, something obvious.

"Oh well," he muttered. "No time like the present."

Hovering his foot over the brake, he slowly applied pressure. At first, it was small, little more than a tap. Yet as seconds ticked by, he applied more pressure. Soon enough, his foot was halfway from hitting the floor. He pulled the car out of its parking space, reversing for a moment, only to hit the brake again. Sure enough, the car stopped. He pulled back into his space, hit the brake, and wouldn't you know, it worked.

A laugh slipped from his mouth as he yanked the e-brake, pulling the keys from the ignition. "It works. It actually works." He muttered to himself, letting his arms fall into his lap as he continued laughing.

He heard his door open next to him, the sight of one of Yang's hands on her hip was enough to know that she felt the same bit of joy that he did, albeit slightly less. After all, he needed his car, and she was just around for kicks.

"That's the fucking titties!" She yelled out, fist pumping with her free hand, a boisterous laugh leaving her mouth as she bounced on her heels. "Listen to that old man go!"

Something about the blonde girl's excitement glued a wide grin to his face, stepping out of his car before standing up. "I'm sorry, it's the what?" He asked, using his pinky to scratch his inner ear. He wanted to make sure he didn't mishear her.

Lilac eyes blinked as a hand stuck itself to the back of Yang's head, gently scratching at her hair. "Oh, uh, whoops." She muttered, awkwardly chuckling to herself soon after. "Sorry, it's just something my Dad says when we work on my bike together. It just sort've slipped out."

Jaune couldn't stop himself from snickering as he closed his car door behind him, leaning against his old beater. "Kind of a weird thing for your Dad to say, don't you think?" Oh well, it wasn't like he had a lot of room to talk. His Gramps had a very flowery vocabulary when it came to describing the various breakdowns of his car. Some of the words he'd use weren't even considered socially acceptable anymore.

This didn't stop Yang from laughing, "It's not exactly like my Dad's normal, you know? Not like you are, anyway." By contrast to how Yang typically held herself, or as typical as Jaune knew, this time Yang was kicking her boots against the asphalt as her hand gripped at the back of her head.

What did she mean by, 'not like you are?'

The blond boy let out a breath as he shrugged his shoulders. "Most Dads aren't exactly normal. I know my Dad isn't." After all, Jaune knew his Dad was pretty strange. Aside from the fact that his Father helped sire eight children, he was also a Huntsman and made minimum Lien on the frontier. That alone was an oddity.

The womanly blonde's awkward smile smoothened out, making way for something smaller, more genuine. "Well, now we've got your car running. I don't suppose there's anything else that you've been thinking about doing?" Jaune was sure a less than polite joke could have been made, but honestly, he didn't want to think about it.

He let out a hum as he brought a hand to his chin. "I don't know. Maybe I could take it out for a test drive? How does that sound for you?" Jaune wanted nothing more than to get in his car and just go somewhere.

Yang's brows rose as she stared back at him, her lips thinning as she let out a hum of her own, "Oh, uh, yeah! That sounds sweet, actually." She replied, her hand falling from the back of her head. "But I probably shouldn't be out for too much longer, you know? Don't want to worry my Dad and all that. I've already been out for a while."

All Jaune could do was nod, "Don't feel too bad about that. My old man used to be like that with my older sisters, so I think he's just worried. I mean, I know I'd be a little worried if one of my sisters was out with someone they didn't know." Was he admitting that he could have been sketchy? Sure, but that didn't mean he was.

As Yang went to walk past him, he felt her tap his shoulder as a smile graced her face. "And that alone tells me I shouldn't be worried. Besides, I can take care of myself just fine, thank you." Her hips perhaps unintentionally sashaying as she walked past him, but it didn't stop him from paying attention. It wasn't like he wanted to hone in on it, but it was just hard to not notice.

The blond boy shook his head as he pulled open his driver side door, taking a seat before closing the door behind him. Yang soon took her seat next to him, his car jostling at the additional weight, but he didn't mind. He slipped his keys into the ignition, and with a turn, the car rumbled back to life.

The vibrations ran up his arms as his hands rested on the wheel, the purring of the engine rolled along his chest. He heard Yang let out a sigh as she slouched against the seat, leaning her head against the headrest. "I can see why you wanted to fix Old Grumpy here, he's got a set of pipes on him." Her arms crossed against her chest.

The corners of his lips twitched as he stared at her from the corner of his eye. "No, that's just an exhaust leak. My muffler fell off." He joked, and he wasn't surprised to hear Yang laugh in return.

"You keep showing me all the good sides of your car, and I just might steal your car. Or I could just bring you home and ask Dad if I could keep you, but I doubt he'd say yes." He knew it was supposed to be a joke, he knew it. But some part of him felt a little uncomfortable. "Then again, if I show him your Celica, he'd probably say yes."

He forced a chuckle from his mouth as carefully pulled his car out of the lot. "I don't know about all that. I mean, don't get me wrong, you're cool and all, but we only met today." His knuckles whitened at how hard he gripped the steering wheel. What the hell was happening?

Yang's index finger came to rest on her chin as she stared up at the roof of his car, the sight of the South End's building slowly blurring as he drove through the empty streets. "Yeah, that's a good point. If I show a new friend to Dad after only a day, he might think something weird." She let out a hum as her lips curled to the side, only for her brows to rise, her eyes sparkling with joy. "I don't know, I'll think of something."

He hoped she wouldn't.

Driving through the South End felt a little different when someone else was with him. Before, all he could focus on was the surrounding buildings and drab scenery, but now he had something else to maintain his attention. Granted, that something was a pretty girl in his passenger seat, so he still felt a little awkward, but at least he wasn't bored.

His car ran as well as he could hope for. His clutch was responsive, his brake worked, and his Celica turned like a dream. All in all, the day was more productive than it had any right being. Best of all, there was nothing in his way. The streets were empty, no stoplights hindered him, and the clear sky made way for clean weather. For the first time in a very long time, Jaune had nothing to complain about.

"So," Yang started, crossing her arms as she leaned against the passenger-side door, "You got any idea as for where we're going?"

The driver only shrugged, flicking his turn signal as he went to turn a corner, "Honestly? No clue. I'm just going where the road takes me." His hands followed muscle memory as he cleanly followed through his turn, maintaining his entry speed.

A hum vibrated at the back of the girl's throat, subtly nodding her head. "Nothing beats an empty road. Well, aside from a good chase." Jaune couldn't help but quirk a brow at that statement. It was the second time that she mentioned a chase, but he didn't quite know what she meant.

"You keep saying that, but I'm not quite sure what you mean." His blue eyes flicked towards her for a moment before coming to rest on the road in front of him. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a collision, or hitting a pedestrian.

The sound of laughter filled his ears as he followed the road ahead of him, trash littering the gutters and sidewalks as tied together sneakers hung from electrical lines. "You've never gone down to Vacuo?" Why would he ever go to Vacuo? Not only was it dangerous, but it was a little too hot for his liking.

"I'm not exactly made for warm weather. I'm sure the oases make for fine resorts though, if you're not getting stabbed in the street." He mumbled the latter half of that sentence to himself. Jaune failed to find the appeal of Vacuo, truth be told. It was dangerous, hot, unsettled, and uncharted.

Lilac eyes furrowed as Yang stared at the side of his head, "Oh! You actually don't get it, do you?" It was less of a question and more of a rhetorical question, if he had to guess. "When I say go down to Vacuo, I don't literally mean going to Vacuo. I'm talking about street racing, you know?"

Street racing?

The blond boy had half a mind to pull over to the side of the road just to focus on whatever words came next. "Vale has a street racing scene?" A singular brow rising on his face as he stared at her from the corner of his eye.

"Uh, yeah? Vale's underground racing scene is pretty cool, to be honest. There's just so many different cars, so much music, the lights, it's just-" Yang let out an excited squeal as she kicked her legs against the dash. "It's just so cool!"

A smile came over Jaune's face as he shook his head. "It makes sense why I've never been. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not exactly the coolest guy on the block." He replied, quickly following it with a chuckle as he drove beyond the bridge that separated the South End and Central.

Jaune felt a fist impact against his shoulder today, letting out a hiss as he winced. "Shut up, you're plenty cool! Not as cool as me, but the Celica gets you brownie points. Besides, most of the guys that go to the meets are pretty big car nerds, so you'd get along with them fine."

Another laugh erupted from the blond driver's mouth as he crossed the bridge, slowly entering Central. "How's my dirty old car going to get me brownie points? I mean, it's all rusted and worn down." He didn't quite find the same enjoyment in having a Mistrali Celica, but he wasn't going to insist that Yang should stop liking it. Different strokes and all that.

For the first time in the entire afternoon, he watched the blonde girl deadpan. "I'm sorry, do you see anyone else driving around in a Pre-War car? Yeah, I didn't think so." She didn't even leave him the chance to interject. Besides, he was sure that someone was still driving a Pre-War car like he was.

The driver only let out a sigh. He knew well enough when he couldn't convince somebody, especially when that somebody was a stubborn girl. He'd grown up around enough of those to learn that lesson the hard way.

So, instead of honing in on the conversation, he decided to pay attention to the road in front of him. The bumpy roads of South End smoothened out, making way for the neatly paved roads of Central. He was lucky that Central only had light traffic, but most people didn't really bother with cars in Central anyway. It was honestly a shame, because he wouldn't have minded seeing more cars around Vale.

Though, as he quietly drove through the streets of central Vale, he felt a hand nudge his shoulder. "So, I don't suppose you plan on taking me to some dark alley to dump my corpse, right? Because that would kinda suck." He heard Yang say. He was glad he wasn't the only person that thought about that sort of thing. Was that normal?

"Nah, I typically save that for the evenings. Dumping bodies is hard to do in broad daylight." The blond driver snipped back, stopping at a flickering red light. He knew the purpose of stop lights, but it didn't stop him from hating them.

He watched as Yang leaned away from him from the corner of his eye. "Right, well remind me to never take you clubbing." Caution filling her voice as her seatbelt tugged at her clothes.

A smirk pulled at his lip as he drove towards his chosen destination. "Hey, I should be telling you that. What kind of girl approaches a guy out of the blue with the offer to spend the afternoon together? I thought you were trying to steal my kidneys." Only half-serious in his retort. Did he think she was trying to steal his kidneys? Not necessarily. Did he think she wanted something out of him? Not anymore.

Yang snickered to herself as she sat up in her seat, "Aw, and here I thought I was being sneaky about it." She faux pouted, crossing her arms as she turned her head to face the window. "Well, since you caught me, what do you plan to do about it?"

With one last turn, the sight of the riverfront came into view. People of several varieties marched along the riverside as groups chatted amongst themselves. But truth be told, Jaune didn't really care for it. No, the center of his attention was focused on the massive barge docked along the riverside. Tables and booths within the barge were visible as people within the confines of the vessel ate and drank at their own content.

That was what he was searching for.

As he pulled up to the curb, parking his car, he turned his head to look at Yang properly. "Make you pay for your share of lunch, because in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly made of money."

He watched as Yang looked towards the barge, down at her pockets, before finally letting her eyes settle on his own. A smile threatened to crack her face in half as her brows shot upwards. "Hey, I wasn't expecting to get lunch, but I think I can cover my half. But don't go jumping to conclusions just because you got me food." A teasing tone taking hold of her voice.

The blond driver only held his hands up in mock surrender, "I wouldn't dream of it."

He pulled his keys from the ignition as Yang stepped out of his car, and Jaune wasn't very far behind. He made sure to lock his car on the way out, but he was sure that no one would bother an open robbery in broad daylight. That would be stupid.

The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a blur. Jaune got lunch with Yang, they hung around the barge for more than their share of time, ordering soft drinks and watching whatever would show up on the TVs that hung on the walls. Sometimes there would be sports, other times they would show legal races going on in Mantle. But overall, it was a fairly fun trip.

They shot jokes back and forth about the various things on TV, but it wasn't anything more than surface level. In truth, Jaune was surprised that he wasn't acting like the awkward teenager he was. Though, he supposed it helped knowing that the girl he was talking to was so wildly out of his league that it didn't matter.

But if there was anything to be said about the quality of the barge, it was that it was phenomenal. The food was absolutely fantastic, albeit extremely greasy. The juicy burgers were absolutely filled with flavor, the crunch of the fries never seemed to actually grow soggy, and whoever thought putting a fried egg on a burger was an absolute genius.

Luckily for him, Yang seemed to have enjoyed the food as much as he did, if the noises that slipped from her mouth were anything to go off of. It would have been weird had he not agreed with most of the noises she made.

But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and their plates eventually went empty. Their appetizers were decimated, their main meals were destroyed, and their drinks were drained. And best of all, the check was manageable. As in, he didn't have to go hungry for the next few days.

It was pretty fantastic.

But time stops for no one, and before long, the afternoon turned to evening as the sun began to set over the ocean. Despite how much fun he was having, it couldn't last forever. He had work, and Yang had other places to be. She nearly insisted on stretching the time for another hour, but a text from home killed that idea pretty quickly.

So, Jaune did the right thing and offered her a ride to the ferry. After all, he'd spent the better part of the day just being around her, it wouldn't have been right to let her run back home. Especially not by herself, what with the sun setting.

By contrast to their time at the barge, the car ride to the ferry was quiet. The only sound that filled their ears was the engine rumbling, the sound of asphalt beneath tires, and the dwindling sounds of seagulls. As the sight of the ferry came into view, Jaune couldn't help but smile. In spite of all the stress he had to deal with in the span of the last 24 hours, he enjoyed the day.

Pulling up to the approach to the ferry, the driver pulled his car up to the curb before braking, yanking on the handbrake before turning off the ignition. He half expected Yang to just step out of his car, give him a wave, and walk away. Something in the back of his mind told him that this would be the only day he'd have as much fun, and frankly, he was okay with that. He had more fun in a day than he had in the span of a decade, he was sure he could live with it for a decade more.

However, instead of stepping out of his car, he heard Yang let out a breath as she leaned her head against the headrest of her seat. "Hey, today was fun, right?" Her voice lacked its previous bombastic energy.

Jaune's brows furrowed in confusion, "Why wouldn't today be fun? I mean, I had a blast just fixing up my car and talking dumb stuff. The food was just icing on the cake." He didn't see the point in downplaying his own enjoyment. After all, he really did have fun.

Yang paused for a moment as she stared out the window, looking at the ferry. One second passed, then two, then finally three as Yang let out a breath. "Then let's do this again sometime." She stated. Not asked, stated.

The blond boy let out a hum as he stared at the side of her head. He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to say no, but the situation was just… weird. They only met today, and the only reason they encountered one another was because of an auto parts store. And not even a good auto parts store.

"Uh," he dumbly started, watching as she turned her head to face him again. "Yeah, sure." The words mindlessly drifted from his mouth.

A grin sprung up on the girl's face as she plucked her scroll from her pocket. "Sweet! Here, let me get you my scroll number. Have you got a pen around here?"

All he could do was blink, her words passing through one ear and out the other. But that ended fairly quickly as she quirked a brow, leading him to sift through his car for a pen. He did manage to find one after a short bit of looking though.

Jaune let out an awkward chuckle as he handed off the pen, "Uh, no, sorry." He sheepishly muttered. His brain was still rushing to catch up with him, but he played it by ear as best he could.

The buxom blonde only blew raspberries at that. "That's not a problem." She started, grabbing one of his hands off the wheel before placing it on her lap. Before he had a chance to question what was happening, he felt the pen scribbling away at the palm of his hand. "And… There! Whenever you've got some free time, shoot me a call. I'm sure we could find something dumb to do."

Jaune carefully pulled his hand back, holding it up to his face. The sight of digits scribbled onto his palm with faded ink still hadn't settled on his mind. "Oh, uh, yeah. Sure thing." His mouth numbly flapped.

"Awesome. See you around, Blondie." She replied, the sound of his passenger side door opening failing to register in his mind, only for the door to close soon after. Instead, the blond boy was more focused on the digits scribbled onto his hand.

As the ferry pulled away, Jaune started making his way home. Through Central's smooth, empty streets illuminated by street lamps, all the way back to the South End's bumpy roads. He got back to his apartment, locked his car, stepped inside his home and sanctuary, only to fall flat on his mattress.

Some part of him wanted to pass out then and there, but he still had something important. He made sure to jot down the digits somewhere, if only to stick it to the top of his mini-fridge. Only then did he actually feel comfortable to flop back on his mattress and pretend like he was dead.

Though, as he laid against his naked mattress, staring up at the ceiling with his hand held in front of him, a thought probed at his mind.

"What the hell just happened?"


Bam! There you go, some actual fucking content.

Now, I know this might seem kind of slow-going, and I'm going to admit to you know, this is gonna be a slower paced story. I've come to learn that writing at a slower, more realistic pace is something that I enjoy. It lets me flesh out characters and touch upon interactions that just pop out in my mind. It's just fun.

Anyway, uh, what was I gonna say? Oh yeah.

I noticed that there hasn't been a whole lot of confidence from the reception of the last chapter, which is fair, I think. After all, the last chapter was purely set up to allow the coming domino chain of events that will happen over the next 7 chapters to happen. Yeah, you read that right. I worked on 7 chapters ahead of time, so you don't have to worry about if this story is gonna suddenly die off.

Either way, just know that I have about another 40k words in stockpile for the coming weeks. Chapters should be coming either weekly or biweekly, depending on word count of the chapter, because I know reading massive chapters every week can get a little tiring. I recognize reader stamina, and as such, the chapter lengths are sorta varied.

But yeah, I think that's about all there is to say about this chapter. I just wanted to be a little more transparent, since I know that you folks would probably appreciate it. This story probably isn't gonna be nearly as big as the last one I wrote, but that's okay. Because honestly, I think that's a lot less pressure on my back.

So yeah, follow, favorite, and review at your leisure. It's not like I'm gonna hold you at gunpoint and force you to do it, so take your time. No rush. Oh, and most of all, if you're a fan of the stuff I write purely as a hobbyist, feel free to join the lovely Goblin Industries.

See, that's the name of the server my buddy and I run together- you know what, you'd know if you joined, which you should.

The discord: 7ksPCNs3ZM

Anyway, that's all for now. Have a lovely week, good luck with work, school, or whatever else you might be dealing with. And most of all, stay safe. Ciao, y buenas noches.