Disclaimer: I don't own, so don't sue.
Charley took a deep breath as she handed her invitation to the man at the desk. Beside her, Lucy was anxiously glancing every which way she could, looking for the one man that she desperately wanted to impress. Charley rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand.
"Lu, you keep doing that, and he will never come to you." She murmured urgently. "Take a deep breath, and calm down. You are cool, calm, sophisticated, and totally worthy of everyone in this building."
"Are you talking to me or yourself girl?" Lucy raised her eyebrows at her friend.
"A little of both." Charley admitted, the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. As they made their way to the main auditorium, she could pick out certain features of the school; her old locker, the girls toilets where the smokers used to hang out, and her favourite corner of the yard. Happy memories, but they also brought back memories of being bullied, taunts that followed her everywhere, especially after her father died. Many a time she had fled to her foster home, the mean names ringing in her ears; 'orphaned bitch', 'foster slut' and, her personal favourite, 'trailer skank'. Shaking her head slightly, she tried to clear her thoughts and held her head high. She had become a well-rounded young woman, and it was time they saw the real her.
Outside, a lone biker sat on a sleek black bike, watching her closely. Throttle had followed her once Charley had left, as he had seen apprehension in her eyes, hidden behind her smiles. As he watched her enter the building, he saw her body tense and could clearly see the conflicting emotions in her face as she neared the auditorium. He ached to go inside to hold her, and let her know that she was stunning, but he knew she needed to do this on her own. He smiled slightly as he saw her resolve stiffen, and her head tilt higher.
"That's it Charley-girl, show them you're not afraid." He murmured, and contented himself with sitting back and watching as the night progressed.
"Oh my god, there's David. He looks so fine!" Lucy gushed as she turned her back on him, her face flushing. Charley looked over Lucy's shoulder and spotted the man. Tall and thin, he didn't look like much to Charley, but she knew that he was a lawyer now, and a really good basketball player. He saw Charley looking at him and excused himself from the crowds of simpering ladies that surrounded him, making his way over to her. As he approached, Charley caught the looks of loathing the women shot her way, and realised who the women were. Holding her head high, she faced her long time bullies down with a cool stare and turned her attention to the man in front of her.
"Chuck?" Charley grinned; she had always got on better with guys than girls, and the lads had even given her a lad's nickname. It was even better when they called her Chuck Mach II after her father's death.
"Hey Dav." She held out her hand, but David pushed it away and grabbed her in a bear hug.
"Damn girl, you got hot!" He chuckled as he put her on her feet again. Charley giggled.
"Thanks Dav. How's life?"
"Good, absolutely fine. Still single. Been waiting for the right woman." He said with a wink at her. Charley laughed.
"You never change, you flirt! Nice try, but I'm kinda taken." She grinned, and a certain six foot tan mouse shot into her minds eye. She tried to ignore it and focus on his question.
"Still working at your dad's garage?"
"Yeah, just keeping her ticking over, you know?" A small poke in her ribs reminded her of something. "By the way, you remember my friend Lucy, Lucy Matthews?" David's attention shifted to the petite blond by Charley's side, and Charley knew he was smitten straightaway.
"I remember. You look beautiful tonight Lu." He said gently, taking her hand and brushing a kiss across her knuckles. Lucy's eyes widened in surprise.
"You remember me?" She whispered.
"Uh huh. From the moment you fell flat at my feet after tripping over your shoelaces." Lucy gasped.
"I was so embarrassed!" She flushed bright red and he laughed a deep resonating laugh. "And with my braces, and my awful pigtails?"
"It was cute." David insisted. Lucy looked at him with happy eyes, and Charley left them alone to get a drink, letting them talk to their hearts content.
"Chuck!" Came another cry, and soon Charley found herself surrounded by more lads, and the night began to pass quickly.
Outside, Throttle forced his fist to unclench as the unknown guy hugged Charley, and later had to repeat the action when he saw her surrounded by more men who were obviously intent on just getting a feel of her. Unknown to Charley, the attention that she was getting from the men was starting to attract some unkind stares from the other women in the room, and Throttle couldn't stand it anymore. Taking off his helmet, he left it with his bike and gave his bike a friendly pat as he turned towards the building. She gave a soft encouraging beep and rolled forward slightly, putting pressure on his knees and pushing him towards the entrance. He looked at her and grinned, then determinedly strode towards the open fire door of the auditorium.
Charley laughed as the lads took the rip out of one of them for a clumsy attempt at a pass at her. It felt good to laugh again, like she was back in high school. She felt like she was part of her old gang again. The group parted slightly as it shifted around her, and she saw an angry knot of women, mostly the ones that bullied her, making their way over to her. Uh oh, trouble. She thought, and furiously began to think of how to extricate herself from the group. Before she could however, she noticed that the group around her had fallen silent and that the girls had stopped about six feet away. A warm hand on her elbow made her jump, and she found herself facing a familiar mouse.
"Sorry I'm late Charley-girl." Throttle said, offering her his arm. "How bout that dance I owe ya?" Silently, Charley took his arm, and tried not to look too surprised by this turn of events as he led her to the dancing area. Gently he swung her round and hugged her close, her right hand in his and curled in between them, her left hand on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Charley murmured as she tried to fight the warm feeling that flooded through her.
"Saving you from a lynching." He murmured back. Charley realised that the women seemed to have calmed down at the sight of her 'date'. The appearance of a giant mouse in their midst was now not as shocking as it had been when they first arrived, and most of the city now knew of their otherworldly saviours from the slimy fins of Limburger, although he was still thought to be human.
"I would have been fine." Charley lied, trying to cover it with a smile.
"You can't fool me Charley-girl." Throttle chuckled. "There was pure panic on your face when you realised they were coming over."
"There was not!"
"Maybe not to everyone else, but I know you too well Charley." Throttle's bionic eyes glinted behind his shades, and Charley could hear the laughter in his voice. Charley pouted, and Throttle felt something growl in the region of his belly. Gods, she was beautiful when she did that.
Charley tried to come up with a retort, but failed, and resorted to pouting at him. She felt his arms tighten around her, pulling her harder to him, and nearly melted in his arms as a wave of heat flashed through her. She had dreamed of dancing with him, but nothing could have prepared her for the onslaught of excitement it brought to be dragged close to him, his hands on her body, her hips firmly against his. Her mouth went dry as his hand slipped to the base of her back, and she tentatively wound her hands around his neck, leaning her head on his chest. They fit so well together, and her eyes closed as they lost themselves in the music and forgot the crowd around them. Throttle dipped his head and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, pulling her as close as he could. Charley's head snapped up at the unfamiliar gesture, and she stared at him.
"Charley, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Throttle stopped talking as Charley laid a finger to his lips and smiled.
"I liked it." She said, blushing coyly. Throttle groaned to himself as his black jeans tightened, and stroked her back as she laid her head on his chest once more. Charley felt his jeans tighten, and felt the unmistakeable length that was him against her lower belly. A thrill of arousal ran through her as she realised that he wanted her as much as she wanted him, and her hands shifted to grab his shoulders, bringing him closer to her.
"Charley..." Throttle groaned, as her face turned upwards towards him. His hand came up and lightly grasped her head, tilting it closer. Charley sighed in contentment as their lips came closer, then opened her eyes as a familiar smell wafted across her nose.
"Throttle?" She asked quietly.
"I smell it Charley-girl. Only one goon smells like that." He scanned the area quickly. Suddenly, the floor to ceiling glass windows on their left shattered, and Charley found herself crouched down, Throttle's body protecting her. They stood up quickly, facing the twenty goons that had burst through the ruined window, watching as their leader stepped forward.
"Greasepit." Throttle growled, clenching his fists. Next to him, Charley scowled at the obese slimeball.
"Duh, de boss says to get de loot. And if dey don't 'and it over, grease 'em." He leered at the huddled group of women in front of him as the pit boys sprang forward and proceeded to relieve them of their jewels. Throttle growled and sprang into action, landing a punch squarely on the jaw of one of the goons and going for another one. His tail wrapped around the neck of another goon and wrenched him off, launching him into the wall, and his fists flew as he distracted the idiots from their job. Charley raced round to the girls and ushered them away, shooing them to a corner where they could protect their backs. Throttle spared her a quick glance and nodded in approval, then turned back to the fight on his hands. Her former bullies huddled behind Charley as she solidly planted her feet in front of them, ready to defend them if needs be.
The need came sooner than she expected. One of the boys realised that they were briefly on their own and cut off from the door by the fight. He advanced slowly, grinning like a Cheshire cat. In one hand he brandished a crow bar, while the other beckoned Charley closer. He chuckled in the back of his throat.
"Come on girlie, I won't hurt ya." He said as he made a grab for her. Throttle was too far away, and couldn't help her, but soon saw the guy flat on his back, knocked out cold. Charley was standing over him, her hands on her hips and her legs apart.
"No, because I'll hurt you first." She said to his unconscious form. Looking up, she saw Throttle throw a quick glance in her direction, and flashed him a quick smile.
"Duh, come on guys, we got what we came for!" Greasepit yelled over the chaos. Within minutes, the pit boys cleared out, and the guests were left alone. Charley ran over to Throttle, who hugged her tightly.
"You ok?" Charley asked worriedly.
"Fine." Throttle smiled. "You? I saw that guy you knocked out."
"I learned from the best." She grinned.
"That's my girl." He murmured, and rubbed his nose with hers. Charley closed her eyes at the soft tickling sensation as they rubbed noses and breathed him in, a sweet mixture of shampoo and motor oil. Abruptly, Throttle pulled back and looked to the window. He whistled, and his bike roared through the window and skidded to a stop next to him.
"Gotta go Charley-girl." He said, grabbing his helmet and mounting his bike, then turned to see Charley staring at him with an amused look on her face and her hands on her hips.
"Oh no, this time you are not leaving me behind. Besides, this party ain't nothing without my date."
"Charley!" Lucy ran forward. "You can't be serious, you're going to go after that maniac? In that dress?" Throttle grinned at her.
"She's right Charley-girl, you aren't exactly dressed for it." In answer, Charley raised her eyebrows. As Throttle watched with a thumping heart, she lifted the hem of her dress and un zipped the side without a slit to her mid thigh, exposing her long and toned leg. She held out her hand. Throttle grinned, his body heated to his core, and grasped her hand. As Charley stepped toward the bike, his tail snaked out and wrapped around her waist, safely lifting her and settling her behind him. Her arms stroked around his waist and locked there, her hands flat against his toned abdomen, and Throttle felt his heart soar. He handed her a helmet and when it was secured, revved his bike, pulled a wheelie, and raced out into the night, leaving some very jealous party guests behind them.
Charley pulled closer to Throttle as they raced after the Pit Crew. She always got a thrill of excitement whenever she rode one of the martian bikes, but it was usually behind Vinnie. It was completely different when she was with Throttle. Her body tingled as she held him, and her nerve endings were on fire. Her fingers gently stroked the soft velvet fur that covered his abdomen, and her hips shifted closer to his as the cold wind whipped around her. Throttle's hand came off the handlebar and covered hers briefly, squeezing it slightly. Charley smiled against his back and heard him talking to his bros and sure enough, minutes later they turned onto the road, flanking Throttle and Charley. Their speed increased, and Limburger Tower appeared slowly in front of them. It never ceased to amaze Charley how fast that fish managed to rebuild his tower. Months of practice, she supposed.
Lawrence Limburger stared at the nervous gibbering boy in front of him that was slowly dripping oil and grime onto his freshly cleaned carpet. Grimacing at him, he slapped a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"My dear boy." Greasepit stuttered to a halt. "His Excellency demands a large shipment of diamonds for his new laser, and I have a shipment to fill. Now then, tell me what happened."
"Duh, well boss, dere was a party at de place dat you said, so we nicked all de diamonds we could find, but dere was no biggie one dere, we checked." Limburger pinched the bridge of his nose.
"When you reached the street it was on, did you turn left, or right?" He asked exasperatedly in a quiet voice. Greasepit looked down at his hands, his fingers together and his thumbs out, then looked up happily at Limburger.
"Left." He replied confidently with a short sharp nod. Limburger sighed.
"You were supposed...to go...RIGHT! CAN'T YOU GET ANYTHING RIGHT, YOU HALFWITTED NO-BRAINED EXCUSE FOR A HUMANOID!!" Greasepit's goofy grin had disappeared as he hit the opposite wall of the office. Upside down, he looked miserably at Limburger.
"But boss, I don't know which 'and is right, it ain't got a letter on it!" He whined. Limburger placed two fingers at his temples and rubbed them in circles slowly.
"Idiots. I'm surrounded by idiots." He muttered.
"Now, now, fish face. That ain't no way to talk about your employees ya know." Limburger cringed at the unwelcome familiar sound.
"Not them, not again." He whined as he turned to see the bane of his existence. Vinnie grinned at him as he groaned.
"Now ain't that sweet music to your ears bros?"
"Needs a bit more punch." Modo smirked.
"Let's change the beat then." Throttle revved his bike, and within minutes the tower was crumbling and the mice had jumped to a nearby rooftop, where Charley waited for them. Throttle settled her behind him, and they headed for home.
"Let's rock, and RIDE!"