The windows of the Acura NSX were rolled down enough for Lenora to eavesdrop. Granted, she wasn't proud of it, but the nagging curiosity got better of her and she turned her ears forward to hear. Before her, Mia's scowl deepened. Lenora could see her fists shaking under the pockets.
"What's with your family and following directions?" the man asked. Arrogance seeped from his pores as he said so, despite sounding almost polite.
Mia huffed. "I'm sorry, Johnny. We were running from the cops and didn't notice. It won't happen again, I promise."
Her words didn't appear to appease him, as his lips curled back into a sneer. "Your brother said the same thing. Is the family taking turns trying to push the limits, Toretto?"
Johnny still held his expression at an even level, but Lenora could practically see the smoke sizzling from his ears. She balled her hands at the scene; everything about him was pissing her off. First his stupid sidekick bumping into her, and now he had the audacity to play fucking border patrol.
Is the guy high on some? Who the hell gave him the right?!
"I swear I didn't mean to disrespect you," Mia tried. "It was my first time being chased and I seriously lost track." She attempted to back away, but was stopped when he advanced forward in one step, towering over her shivering form like a madman.
"You think I believe that?" Johnny probed. "Two times in two weeks. Does it not sound fishy even to a braindead Toretto like you?"
Mia flinched at the acidic comment. She tried to puff out her chest, but even Lenora in her drunk state knew that it was a farce. The woman in the car heaved a sigh and gritted her teeth; she didn't realize the bad blood between the two was this serious.
"Don't insult my family!" Mia grounded. "I'm the one who ticked you off."
Johnny smiled, though his eyes remained blank, sending chills down Lenora's spine. It reminded her of the cheshire grin from that Disney movie she saw as a kid. Even under normal circumstances, if she'd seen him in broad daylight, her reaction would still be to turn around and break for the hills.
"That's not for you to say, anymore," he drawled, grin spreading wider.
Mia snapped her head up to meet him in a challenge. "You want to fight me or what?"
Lenora yelped at the declaration. There was no way the two of them could take down the dozen of the riders. She didn't even know how to walk gracefully for heaven's sake! They would be bulldozed six feet under in a minute.
Hearing her statement, Johnny let out a throaty laugh, sending echoes through the parking lot.
"Nah, I wanna see your bro. Tell him to come here, now."
It was evident that he wasn't negotiating, and Lenora could tell that the punk was used to getting his way with everything. It served as a reminder of the stuck up gym rats, who she had the misfortune of conversing with. She fought to keep her rising temper from getting the best of her. But seeing that smirk on his face gave her an irresistible urge to go up and slap it right off.
"I'm not dragging Dom into this," Mia hissed. "Just let me go and you won't see me ever again."
Johnny shook his head. "I warned him last time. There needs to be consequences from here on out." He moved to grab the phone in Mia's hand, but she dodged his attempt.
That proved to be the last straw for Lenora as her brain short circuited. In her fogged up mind, all she could think of was pulling Mia away and giving the meathead a good chew out. And before her brain even registered the action, her hand pushed at the door, and she stomped out like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. The sudden movement caught the attention of some of the riders, and they shouted in a foreign language.
"Excuse me!" she snapped. Her legs wobbled at the sudden movement, and her head spun. But that didn't deter her as she stormed to the two people in the front. Waving her arms up like a maniac, she successfully caught the attention of her intended target. Johnny's head turned her way, brows scrunching up in anger and disbelief at the fuming woman.
He moved his mouth to say something, but was cut short when Lenora shoved herself between him and the brunette, pushing Mia away.
"Who do you think you are?" Lenora snapped. "Who the fuck gave you the right to play border patrol?!"
His face contorted as he stared down at the newcomer before him, eyes twitching. Even in her boots, Lenora had to crane her neck to meet him in the eye. But her adrenaline fueled indignation left no room for her to feel anything else.
"Who is this, Toretto?"
She felt a vein pop when she realized he didn't even acknowledge her. Blocking Mia from his view once more, she put on the face she had in store for special dickheads like this one.
"I'm tulking to yuh, hotshot!" She made sure he saw her fists clench. "Leave her alone!"
Lenora sidestepped, herding Mia away in the process. The brunette gripped the sleeves of Lenora's jacket, all the while shaking. In response, Johnny stared at her like she had grown two heads.
"Do you know who I am?" His eyes bulged with either anger or dubiety, but none of that mattered to her.
"I don't," Lenora stated flatly. "Shuld I, though? Are you the jock of the block?" She stuck out her hand and flipped him off. The way his face fell was hilarious.
"I'd watch what you're saying, woman," Johnny warned. "You're on my turf."
That statement alone was enough to make her burst into hysterical giggles. It sounded stupidly immature and funny all at once. "The lass time I was in 'Merica, it was a free country."
He smirked. "Not here. Any friend of Toretto's is an enemy of mine."
"I didn't know your wereee elected town mayor!" Lenora gasped, tone drenched in sarcasm.
"Nora, wait-" Mia tried to grab at her, but she held a soothing hand over her shoulders. Lenora was done with the shit he had been spewing, and she wanted the headache to stop. All the bickering wasn't doing anything to help.
"It's ok," Lenora whispered. "Just don't let em see fear." Turning back to the towering male, she bared her teeth and threw him a dirty look. "I dunno what happened between you two. But all I'm gettin' here is some sore loser who can't take second place and izzz now blowin' steam on two inn'cent women. So you can do yourself a fucking favor and shove it, or I-Imma call the cups!"
The part about calling the police was a bluff, although it wouldn't hurt to try. Lenora held her ground, ignoring the smoldering glare from him. It did unnerve her, much her chagrin. To her, the guns were added affect on top of the danger he radiated.
"I won't ask a third time," Johnny said. His voice was now incredibly low. "Who. Are. You?"
Lenora snorted. "Imma her friend if that concerns you. Now can we leave?"
Johnny's shoulder tensed as he stared past to the younger Toretto behind her. His lips sealed into a thin line and he growled. "Your brother brought a mechanic. And now you're bringing a little girlfriend? You're testing my patience, Toretto."
"And you mine!" Lenora shrieked. She was sick of him playing high and mighty, and the alcohol in her blood was doing a great job at keeping her anger running. Her own audacity surprised her. "Look. The longer y-you ass complains about your furst world problems, the more you haf to look at uhhs. So how bout you be the adut here and let gooo?!"
She thought she heard Mia say something to her on the side, but in the moment, her tunnel vision could only focus on the man. Her breathing was wavering and she was losing the ability to center on his face. The world teetered from left to right for a second before going back to normal. Sweat coated her palms as she tried to look as menacing as possible.
"What's wrong with you?" His question caught her off guard. This time, his face held a look of perplexion.
Damn it. Don't let them see that you're scared!
"W-What wrong with you?!" She choked on the last syllable. Taking a shaky step forward, she was about to butt him with her body when Mia pulled her back.
"Johnny, she's really drunk," Mia explained. "I'm just trying to get her back safe. Please let us go!"
Lenora felt it then, the familiar feeling of a pounding skull. The whole chase by the police on top of things only added more stress to the pile. She wrestled with her brain to keep her gaze steady, but the pressure from being under his stare was beginning to crack her resolve.
"What are ya gonn do? Shoot two college girls?" she taunted. A nervous chuckle escaped her. "Is that how you're gonna assert your dominance?"
The young man didn't peel his gaze from her, his jaw tightened and she heard the grinding of his teeth. She held her breath, waiting for him to bark his next insult. The whole lot was eerily silent after that, with the riders waiting for their command. Lenora was preparing a whole speech while they waited, only to have Johnny give her one last look over before he whipped around and stormed away.
Mia binked. Lenora blinked with her. Her mouth opened and closed, at a loss on whether or not she should keep acting tough. What's up with him now?
"Don't think, even for a second, that I'm taking pity on you," Johnny sneered. He faced them again once he situated himself on his bike. "I do not want to hear rumors about me taking advantage of inebriated women."
"You already did," Lenora mumbled under her breath. His masked head snapped in her direction and she almost jumped from her skin. Even with the helmet on, she knew that he was leering right at her. He barked something she couldn't understand, and the rest of the crew obediently turned on their bikes and filed out from the parking lot one by one. The residual smoke made Lenora gag, bile rose to her throat as she tried to keep down her tussling stomach.
She watched as he revved his engines on at last, and glided towards them. He slid to a stop mere inches away, but didn't remove his visors.
"This is my final warning." His voice sounded from under, "Don't ever set foot near here again."
Behind her, Mia shivered and nodded. Lenora, on the other hand, rolled her eyes and looked away to hide her grimace. As if she'd listen to some wannabe gangster bro; the fact he was making the demands made her only want to come here again just to spit on his face.
He didn't comment on their silence, and kicked off the engines to join his companions, leaving them standing in the now empty lot, trembling in their wake. Lenora focused on the silent chirpings of the crickets, trying to take reign of her pumping heart. She never thought she'd appreciate the wind blowing on the trees at night, in this case, it grounded her.
She wrapped an arm as best as she could around Mia, careful as to not fall on her because of her wobbly legs. And the brunette returned the sentiment and hugged back. For five minutes, the women just stood there, doing their best to calm one another down from the disturbing incident. Lenora herself still couldn't believe the amount of gals she had back there to go head on with Johnny. She wasn't sure if she would've been like that if she had been sober, so she figured that getting tipsy tonight really did save her.
"Is alright," she whispered, "they're gone. We're okay now."
Mia gave a jerky nod before letting go. "Thanks for standing up for me."
Lenora smiled. "Us gals haf to watch each other's backs…" Her tongue rolled around, lisping as she spoke. She found it easier to talk now that she was sobering up. Her migraine remained, but it was better than having to deal with a heavy cottonmouth.
"I'm so sorry for that," Mia said. She averted her eyes when Lenora moved to face her directly. Lenora frowned before sighing.
"You can explain it to me when you feel like it." Rubbing her shoulders, Lenora started at the Acura. Mia clicked the car open and they slid in, taking in the scenery before them.
"It's a shitshow," Mia explained. "There's so much drama even I can't fathom it."
Lenora groaned and reclined the seat, shifting for the most comfortable position. "Well, I'm always down for a good gossip."
Mia gave a half-snicker and turned on the vehicle. Pulling onto the road, the car began to speed up. They both came to the conclusion that it was a bad idea to show up back home in a frizzled mess, with Mia being afraid to tell Dom about the whole Johnny situation.
"We can go for a drive until you are ok with going back," Lenora offered. "I'm not too busy tomorrow anyway." In reality, she had enough things on her schedule to keep her busy. But with her racing thoughts in addition to riding out the high, it was better to take a hike.
"Sure," Mia responded. She glazed over the road ahead and the car continued its peaceful pace on the semi-empty freeway. Her shoulders dropped as she caught up to the realization that it really was over. Lenora felt her lids getting heavier by the minute, exhaustion threatened to overtake her as she listened to the engine purring in the background. On second thought, doing a night run wasn't a terrible thing.
"He's Dom's rival," Mia spoke out of nowhere. Lenora furrowed her brows and looked up in surprise.
"Hah, and here I thought he was some crazy ex," she joked.
Mia scoffed and shook her head. "Nope. Wouldn't dream of it. The guy's psychotic."
Lenora snorted. "You got that right. Might wanna add 'delusional' to that list, though." That succeeded in making the driver laugh. "So why the irrational hate?"
"Long story short, before Dom made it official with Letty, he slept with Johnny's sister during a one night stand," Mia continued. "That broke whatever trust Johnny had with him, and he did the drastic action of cutting anyone who was with Dom off."
"Was she underage?"
Mia scoffed. "No. Dom would never."
Lenora squinted in confusion. "So why was your brother hangin out with him?"
Mia tensed her jaw, appearing to be mulling over something. After biting her lips for a moment, she exhaled. "Dom helps people fix cars, and one of his main importers was Johnny. The guy may seem young, but he has a knack for business. So my brother spotted him and struck a deal."
The details were lost to Lenora as she twindled her hair. She still couldn't find the reason why Johnny would go as far as to threaten the lives of others over his sister's private life. If she was being fair, it all sounded like some blown up locker room drama about who's sleeping with who and who's getting revenge.
Lenora shrugged. "I honestly don't see a big deal with this. If both parties consented to that one night stand, then who's to judge?"
Mia clicked her tongue thoughtfully. "Apparently Johnny took it to heart. And now we're here."
"Am I seriously banned from that part of the city?" Lenora asked warily. Mia glanced at her with unease on the side, her fingers tapping against the wheel.
"Johnny hates everyone involved with us," she said, "I would be cautious if I were you."
The more they talked about him, the more Lenora was getting the picture of a territorial toddler who was pissed that he didn't get his way. It was a surprise to her that he had the intelligence to deal with trade.
"Honestly, sounds like a headache to deal with," she admitted. "The guy's got the emotional level of a five-year-old, except he has a gun. I wager that it's a fake to bluff."
Mia turned her head to stare at her, expression unreadable. Lenora didn't think too much of that.
When she winked at her, Mia chortled with good humor. "Vince thinks the same on that one. Looks like you got another friend."
At the sight of Lenora's flat face, she guffawed.
Lenora grumbled. "Well I should thank him for getting me all topsy turvy, else I wouldn't have had enough to say to the guy's face."
"That's true," Mia agreed. "Though that's probably the reason why Johnny is banning you, too. I've never heard anyone else call him a border patrol and then laugh in his face like it was the funniest thing."
Lenora winced at the vivid memory. After cooling down her raging temper, she did see how it could've backfired immediately on her had Johnny been extra unstable. But she squashed that thought down without mercy. The idiot deserved a good lecture on decent human behavior.
Setting all musings on him aside, she stared out into the city of LA, admiring the lights that decorated the buildings in the front. At least she was now able to go back and pop some Advil before meeting up with Mia again on Sunday.