"Holy shit," Kara breathed, upon seeing the car drive up. "And I thought the first car was nice."
Lena laughed and rolled her eyes, replying, "Hardly."
"What do you mean 'hardly?'" Kara gaped, staring at the vehicle.
"That one's my throw-away car."
"Your what?"
"Are you getting in or not?" Lena laughed, patting the seat beside her.
Kara, cheeks tinting a light shade of red, gingerly opened the car door and sat down in the passenger's seat.
"I feel bad breathing on it," she mumbled, looking around at the interior.
Rolling her eyes at her companion, Lena patted the top of the dashboard with a smile, saying, "My throwaway car is a 2017 Lamborghini Centenario Roadster, one of only 40 made."
"I liked the red color, personally. I thought that car was amazing."
"Uh…" the brunette said, blinking several times before continuing her sentence. "The color is actually called matt Rosso Mimir…. And yeah, I guess it is amazing, but it's nothing compared to this."
"Matt Rosso Mimir," Kara repeated, pronouncing the name of the paint wrong. "Got it. So anyway… if that's a 'throwaway car,' what the Hell is this gorgeous hunk of gold I'm sitting in?!"
"A 9.5 million dollar 2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster," Lena said matter-of-factly, pulling away from the curb. "One of nine, and the most expensive Lamborhini ever sold."
"Jesus Christ! You must be richer than the queen of England!"
"Ugh," Lena groaned. "I love my car, dude, but if you're gonna cum in your pants, you should probably do it in private."
"Hey! I'm not—" Kara tried, but trailed off when she realized that yes, in fact, she was about to jizz her pants over the unbelievably luxurious car. "So, uh… Am I at least allowed to ask how fast this thing goes?"
Grinning, Lena answered, "This particular car has a top speed of 221 mph and a 0–60 acceleration time of 2.8 seconds."
Jaw dropping, Kara stared at the celebrity and gawked, "Seriously?"
"Wanna see how fast we can get her on the highway?"
"Um… no."
"Why not?" the brunette pouted. "It'll be fun!"
"You're gonna get us arrested."
"Actually, this time, I'd just get me arrested. And I can post bail, so it's fine."
"I can't even imagine having that much money…" Kara said softly, dropping her gaze.
Glancing over at her companion briefly enough to see the sad, defeated look on the girl's face, Lena said, "Looks like you guys have been struggling, huh?"
Kara just nodded and whispered, "Mhmm."
"Hey, listen… If you need any help… with anything… flowers, funeral costs, home repairs… I'd be happy to help…"
Lifting her head, the blonde looked over at Lena and said, "I don't want a handout. I'm not here for your money, Lena. I just… really like you as a person…"
"I didn't mean to insult you," Lena said quickly. "I'm just so used to everyone using me for my wealth that I just… I don't know. And I kinda don't know how else to show someone I care about them, to be honest…"
"Ah. Love languages. Different for everyone."
"What do you mean?" Lena asked, pulling onto the highway.
"We all speak various love languages, to different degrees. For example, my love languages are words of affirmation and physical touch - at least, that's how I receive love. How I give love tends to be in quality time and acts of service."
Laughing, the star interrupted, "Acts of service. Ha!"
"What?"
"I was being a pervert, kid… How did you not catch that?"
"Oh," Kara said blankly, not getting the innuendo of the joke.
"Servicing people? You know?"
"Um…"
"Nevermind. Anyway, I don't really know how I receive love, because I haven't really had it before. But I know I give affection - I won't say love - with gifts."
"Nothing wrong with that, I guess. I'm just not looking for anything from you, okay? Your time is more than enough."
"Thank you, Kara… No one's ever said anything like that to me before," Lena confessed, stealing another quick glance before turning her attention back to the road.
With a shrug, Kara replied, "You don't have to thank me. Taking from others just isn't who my parents raised me to be."
A smile tugging at her lips, Lena said, "They raised you well, then. They raised you not to be selfish. And I appreciate that more than you know."
"Anyway, where are we going?"
"Rage Room," the brunette told her companion, once again sporting her signature mischievous grin.
"What room now?"
"A Rage Room," Lena repeated. "You know…. Where you pay a few bucks to smash everything in a room with a baseball bat."
"That's a thing?"
"Mhmm. Totally. I used to do this all the time when I was little. I had some… behavioral problems… so my mom and dad made me take out my anger in less dangerous ways, like busting the crap out of a bunch of glass."
"But I'm not… angry…"
"Oh no?" the star challenged. "Not mad at your family for finally showing up but not actually helping? For pretending to care?"
"They do care," Kara shot back. Then, upon reflection, she revised her statement, saying, "Okay… So, they care when it's convenient. And yeah… I guess I am a little angry. But mostly just sad and lonely."
"Then this is gonna be perfect."
"Lena, I…"
"You're gonna love it. Just trust me."
With a sigh, Kara leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes.
When Lena noticed that she's done this, she said, "Open your eyes. I'm gonna try to hit 160."
"Lena! Don't!" the blonde cried, looking over at the star in horror. "We—"
But Lena was already flooring it - well, nearly flooring it - and Kara was a helpless passenger, at the mercy of Lena's driving abilities.
"Stop it," the celebrity laughed. "You're gonna be fine. I'm a good driver. You have to be in a car like this."
Swallowing her nerves, Kara nodded her head and hung on to the door, bracing herself.
"Would you relax?" Lena pressed. "You're not gonna die. OR get arrested. I promise. Okay? Trust me."
Looking over at her companion apprehensively, Kara bit her lip. Then, looking back out at the road unfolding before them, she noticed something unexpectedly surprising. The sun was setting, and the sky was a bright, vivid pink.
"Wow," the younger girl breathed. "This is—"
But before she could finish, Lena noticed the open, almost empty stretch of highway and pushed down harder on the pedal, accelerating the car to the point that Kara's fear melted into adrenaline and laughter.
When Lena heard it, she felt her heart flutter. She wasn't sure why, but the sound was more joyful and pure than anything she'd heard before. No song, no lullaby, no words had ever sounded so sweet to her. As she drove, challenging herself to impress her passenger, she felt her face grow warm, despite the cold wind that was chilling her cheeks.
As soon as Lena stopped the car in the parking lot of the business, Kara looked over at her with a grin and blurted, "That was awesome."
"Told ya," the brunette teased. "I. Told. You. So."
"Do you have any idea how unattractive 'I told you so' is? Turd."
Eyes wide, Lena stared at Kara in disbelief, saying, "Are you calling me unattractive?"
That was definitely nothing she'd ever heard before. Everyone was always calling her beautiful, always sucking up, never teasing her or calling her names. This was… beyond different.
"No," Kara asserted firmly. "Just challenging your word choice."
"Fine," Lena huffed. "Whatever. Let's go inside and DO THIS THING!"
Laughing and feeling the mood lighten immediately, Kara hopped out of the car excitedly.
"Hurry up!" the brunette shouted, grabbing Kara's hand and tugging her into the building. "Time to party."
The longer Lena held her hand, the warmer Kara's own cheeks became. Trying to ignore this, she followed the other girl inside and up to the front desk.
"Ready?" Lena asked, sporting a broad, animated smile, as soon as she had paid for their room and the employee's speech about the rules was over.
Shrugging, Kara replied, "I guess so."
"Relax. Loosen up. This is gonna be great!"
Hesitantly, Kara stepped inside the room, evaluating the setup with wide eyes as she took in the sight of countless glass items.
When Lena tried to push the metal baseball bat into her hands, Kara pushed it back at her, shaking her head and saying, "You first."
Lena shrugged, and after donning their safety equipment, she almost instantly went wild on her half of the room, shattering more items than either of them could count. Screaming loudly as she swung the bat, with Kara watching from the corner, the brunette smashed items until she could barely breathe and had almost lost her voice.
"I can't," Kara blurted, as Lena pressed the bat into her hands again.
"Yes, you can. Let it out."
"I—"
Pushing Kara forward, Lena watched as the girl reluctantly considered her first target. Before she could give another word of encouragement though, Kara finally swung the bat. Nearly dropping it after the first swing, Kara's eyes went impossibly wider, and she paused briefly. After the moment of shock and relief had washed over her, Kara let out her own scream - one of suppressed, bottled agony, and proceeded to beat the shit out of every item in reach. Despite wanting to continue, the wave of relief was suddenly replaced with a crashing waterfall of grief, and tears flooded her cheeks as quickly as she'd taken the last swing of the bat.
With the weight of her whole family on her shoulders, Kara fell to her knees on the floor. Luckily, the cheap but thick off-brand jeans she was wearing mostly protected her knees from getting cut by the scattered glass beneath her, despite some discomfort. After dropping the baseball bat to the floor, Kara covered her face with her hands as she sobbed.
At first, Lena wasn't sure what to do. She'd never been around anyone having a breakdown before, but clearly Kara was not okay in the slightest, and just standing there doing nothing wasn't an option. After a moment of hesitation, Lena found herself asking herself, What would you want her to do? This resulted in Lena kneeling beside Kara and sliding an arm around her shoulders.
"It's okay," she whispered, pulling Kara in to her chest. "I got you, hun."
Kara only sobbed harder, this time thinking not about her family and the immense pressure and stress she was under, but rather the vast expanse of loneliness she'd experienced almost her whole life. Now, this feeling of loneliness was being shaken to its core, and Kara was abruptly feeling the sense of companionship she'd been wanting for so long. She'd only known Lena three days, but somehow, it felt like a lifetime. Especially as Lena held her close, embracing her with a gentleness only Kara's mother had ever shown her.
Once she was cried out - just as their hour in the room was up - Lena helped Kara to her feet and gently led her out of the building and back to the car.
"I'm sorry," Lena blurted, hands on the steering wheel without starting the car.
"What for?" Kara asked, wiping one last stray tear from her eye.
"I didn't mean to make you cry. I didn't think… I just thought it would be—"
"No, I loved it," the blonde assured her. "I loved it. It was exactly what I needed. A rage-fest and a really good, intense cry."
"My throat hurts," Lena laughed. "I'm supposed to record something for Disney tomorrow - can't tell ya what - but I don't think that's gonna happen."
"Oh, shit. I'm sorry! That's your livelihood, and it's my fault that—"
"Hun… They'll wait. I dictate my schedule. It's not like they would ever find a replacement."
"Fair enough," Kara chuckled, finally smiling.
"There we go," Lena commented. "There's that pretty smile."
Lips parting to speak but failing to make sound, Kara stared at the star. Pretty?
As a blush rose to Kara's cheeks, Lena added, "You deserve to be happy, Kara. You really do."
"Th-Thanks," the blonde stuttered, looking away. "I should get home before my sister kills me."
"Alright," Lena conceded. "Can we hang on Friday?"
Considering this first, Kara then nodded her head, saying, "Sure. I'll probably skip school."
"Sweet."
Unable to fight the mirrored smile that formed on her lips in response to Lena's, Kara leaned back and spent the ride home glancing over at the brunette periodically, still swimming in the bliss of finally having someone who seemed to understand her, despite their immense and obvious differences.
That night, lying in her bed, the comfort of Lena's arms was all Kara could think of.
Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Head's up: I will be on holiday next week, so I will resume posting likely on Friday, 12/10/2021. Take care, all! Read ya soon! ;)