AN: We had that list of 'islanderisms' posted on the wall at work for the longest time. Given that I used to work at 'crappy tire' I feel totally justified calling it that. And since we have a Tim Horton's right across the street from us at my new job, yeah, that drive thru is busier than the bank on pay day, LOL. Out of a mild curiousity, is there anything in particular that causes so many people to read this story and not review? I always get sorta paranoid that people read without reviewing if they have nothing nice to say. For God's sake, if that's the case, don't say anything nice! Just tell it like it is. It's how I live and I wouldn't dream of asking anyone else to start paying lip service either. Just give me reasons why you don't like it and we're all good. So I guess if you don't like it just because, I don't need to know. But if there's something that drives you crazy, let me know. So here we go with another update. Enjoy!

The Funeral of a Good Girl

By – TempestRaces

Chapter Sixteen – Of Sharks and Beating Leon

Dom grudgingly admitted to himself that they wouldn't have caught up if it wasn't for the fact that Tempest had both stuck around and decided to pitch in. Not only was she capable and able to help, because she'd stuck around, so had Jesse. So that meant they were up two bodies, not just Tempest, but Vince was extra too. Not that he ever planned on telling her he was grateful for the help. He was still smarting too much from her fixing the brakes of the Sunfire when he hadn't known how. Even though it wasn't something he was doing wrong, or something he really should have known, it still bothered him that she had known how when he hadn't. Even if she only knew because it was a quirk of that particular car and she just happened to be a factory trained technician for that car, it still made him incredibly irate that she had known something he hadn't, and that she had been able to use that knowledge to show him up.

They all went home in their own rides, as always.

On the way home, Tempest had to admit to herself she was feeling pretty good. She'd put in a good days work, shown the boys she was capable, shown up Dominic, who drove her crazy with his need to keep on not liking her over something she couldn't control, and last but hardly least, gotten her Skyline back with a fully tuned engine and show worthy interior. She cranked up her stereo and let the bass pound through her. Her Altima and RX-7 had nice systems, but there hadn't been time or money to add one to the Skyline. She'd missed it. So she turned it up, put the windows down, took the elastic out of her hair and let the wind toss it around while she drove too fast and belted out the words of every song that played.

And when she pulled up in front of the house, just behind Dominic, who was the only person who'd managed to stay out front of her, she was still belting out the lyrics.

"I had enough. Made up my mind. I'm gonna get up, and out, and wild. I love myself today, not like yesterday. I'm cool. I'm calm. I'm gonna be ok. I love myself today, not like yesterday. Take another look at me now, 'cause it's your last look. Your last look forever."

"You're not half bad. You play an instrument too?"

Vince's question, roared over the sound of her and Bif Naked belting out 'I Love Myself Today' shocked her and she jumped in the seat. She shut the car off and put the windows up before climbing out of her seat and shutting the door before locking it. "Nope. I don't sing either, just in the shower and along with the radio."

"So the three bands I've heard you play so far are Bif Naked, Eve 6 and Limp Bizkit. You only into rock?"

"No, not at all. I love hip hop, rap, rock, punk, country, pop. I'll listen to almost anything."

"But you never learned to play an instrument?"

"A little trumpet in high school band. Does that count?"

"Were you any good?"

She laughed. "God no. I was pretty bad at it. I never really learned to read music."

He nodded. They started up the lawn behind the rest of the team, who were piling out of their cars, talking about what to do with the evening. Mia arrived shortly after they did, and she started making supper.

For some reason, watching Mia cook food to feed seven people all alone seemed cruel. "Anything I can do to help you out?" Tempest offered.

"'Scuse me?" Mia asked in shock. "Did you just offer to help me with a household chore?"

"I guess I did," Tempest replied, looking rather confused.

Mia laughed. "I'm tryin' not to pass out from shock. I've never heard an offer of help before. I've had Dom fight for his right to operate the barbeque, as he's the man of the house. But I've never had anyone offer to just help me cook a meal on an idle Thursday before."

"Well, if there's something I can do."

"You would earn my eternal gratitude if you started chopping those peppers," Mia gestured toward where several green and red peppers sat beside a cutting board.

"Chopping them for what?" she asked so she would know how to cut the vegetables.

"Fajitas."

"So you want them in strips or rounds then?"

Mia shrugged. "Whatever. When food hits the table, as you've seen, it isn't going to be around long enough for anyone to care."

Tempest grinned. "Yeah, it's like when they show sharks on TV and someone starts to bleed in the water."

"Yes! Exactly!" Mia grinned back. "You're right. It's just like a feeding frenzy."

"We should really feed ourselves before we feed them. Than we'd get our pick of the food, and not have to fight anyone for it."

"Don't think it hasn't occurred to me before," Mia said, brandishing a butcher knife as she waved her arms to illustrate her point.

"Ok, just put the knife down," Tempest chuckled. "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye, at which time it becomes a sport."

Mia went back to chopping chicken with a giggle. "I just don't know how it is you seem to be able to both work in a garage and cook. Letty told me it wasn't possible for a woman to do both 'girl' things and work with men all day."

"It's harder for girls like me'n her, but since I live alone at home I either cook or I starve."

Tempest and Mia finished making dinner. As they predicted, when it hit the table the guys fell on it and within twenty minutes it was all gone, and the table was destroyed. The look Tempest sent Jesse's way insured that Mia had some help clearing the table. But that was when Mia found out that everyone else drew the line at washing dishes.

"I'd offer to help," Tempest told her as she carried the last of the dishes out of the dining room and into the kitchen. "But I draw the line at doin' dishes. I have a dishwasher at home and that's how I like it."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not used to having help in the first place."

Jesse bounded into the kitchen. "T?"

"Yeah J?"

"I wanna go to a movie. Come with me?"

"Sure. What're you gonna see?"

"House on Haunted Hill."

"The one about the people in the haunted mental institute?"

"Yeah," Jesse looked gleeful at the thoughts of the horror flick.

Tempest wasn't a huge fan of horror movies. But she figured she'd go anyway, because nothing she was going to pick to see was going to come close to as good as far as Jesse was concerned. "Ok, when's it start?"

"Nine. We'll have to be there by like eight to get good seats, so we'll have to leave now, or real soon."

"Where you goin?" Leon asked as he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing a beer out. He popped the top off and pulled half of it down in one swallow.

"To see 'House on Haunted Hill'," Jesse answered.

"Sweet, can I come?"

"Sure," Jesse answered. "You don't mind, do you cuz?"

"Heavens no. The more the merrier."

The three of them asked Mia if she wanted to come too, but she declined. They walked through the living room, past Dom, Letty and Vince, and started to put their shoes on.

"Where you guys headed?" Dom asked.

"Theatre."

"What are you goin' to see?" Letty asked.

Leon told her the movie they'd picked.

"Can we go too Dom? Please," Letty asked, pouting playfully.

"I guess so," Dom caved on a sigh. Like Mia, he wasn't big on horror movies.

"Guess we're all going then. I don't wanna stay home alone," Vince said as he stood up off the couch.

"Mia ain't comin'," Leon said, glancing at Mia where she stood in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. "She's too scared!"

"You're darn straight I'm not going to go pay money to have nightmares for the rest of the week," Mia agreed.

"I wanted to see that movie anyway," Vince said before he started for the door, shocking everyone by choosing to leave with them instead of staying home and being alone in the house with Mia.

"The house to myself for two hours?" Mia asked. "I don't know if I'll know what to do with myself. I can't remember the last time it happened. I think I'll need to make a list."

Tempest laughed. "I remember what that was like. When I lived at home I never had any time home alone. Moving out was the best damn thing I ever did."

"I thought you said your mom took care of your dog for you?" Vince questioned.

"She does. She owns the house across the street from the apartment building I moved into. She has a key."

"Why move out and stay so close?"

"I love my mom. I just needed my own space. This way when she needs me to do something for her, I 'm right there and it works the same way when I need her, but we each have our own space."

"Sounds like heaven. I wish I could rent the place next door to this place for myself." Mia sighed dreamily. "But this place would fall into ruins if I wasn't keeping it up. Enjoy your movie," she chirped, clearly rushing them out of the house so her alone time could start.

They filed out of the front door, Tempest bringing up the rear. She watched as Dom, Letty, Leon, and Jesse all walked to their own cars. "We're takin' six cars to go to a movie?"

They all answered back in variations of 'I ain't ridin' with him or her'. She shook her head. "I guess I'll take mine too then." Still shaking her head in disbelief that even Dom and Letty weren't riding together, she got into her Skyline and started the engine. As she went to put it in gear and follow Dom off down the street, the passenger side door opened.

"You mind if I ride with you?" Vince asked, still standing beside the car.

"No, get in," she answered. He slid in. "You sure you wanna buck the trend and be the only one who doesn't drive alone in his car to get to movie we're watching as a group?"

"Yeah. You might need someone who knows where they're going in the car with you."

"Jesse's car is as slow as molasses running uphill in January. I think I could follow him pretty much anywhere," she answered, chuckling at her slight on the Jetta.

"True, true." He didn't try to give her another reason, just fell into silence.

If he wasn't going to talk to her, just sit there, than she was cranking the tunes. If he didn't like it, he knew where the door was. The first song to come on after the end of 'I Love Myself Today' was 'I Love Rock and Roll' by Joan Jett. She realized she was singing along out loud when Vince started to chuckle.

"You sure you never had a desire to be a rocker girl? I can so see you with a guitar in your hands just rockin' out."

"I'm not co-ordinated enough to play guitar, let alone sing and play at the same time. There's too much to remember. All those strings, and your fingers needin' to hit different ones all the time."

"It's not as hard as you think."

"Says someone who already knows how to play."

"Well, I wasn't born that way. I had to learn."

"I suppose, if you could learn, pretty much anybody could." She smirked. "It can't take as much brain power as I really thought it did, when I really think about it. I mean, you seem to have mastered it."

"Well, I always thought drivin' took some skill. But yet there you are, behind the wheel. And you haven't had an accident that I've seen yet. So that's like five whole days I've known you, and you're still accident free. That's pretty good. For a girl."

"Oh baby, would I ever love a shot at runnin' you. I'd run you right off the god damn road. Me'n this car'd blow the doors off that thing you drive. All four of 'em," she said. It was clear she was implying the fact Vince's car had four doors made it slower than hers.

"I don't think so. The cars might be pretty even, but when it comes down to the skill of the driver, you ain't got nothin' on me."

"Yeah, I do. A clue how to race. 'Cause I do that, you know? Race? I don't just hang out and watch Dom win all the time while I," she caught herself about to end her sentence 'pick up his leftovers' and thought better of it. "Stand around and watch," she substituted quickly.

He knew from the unintended pause in her smart aleck quip that she'd ad libbed something off the top of her head. He really didn't think he wanted to know what it was she'd intended to say. He didn't want to end up in a fight with her again already. "I race too. Just 'cause I haven't since you've been here don't mean I don't race. I learned right along side Dominic when we were kids."

"Really?"

He had her attention now. She was really interested. As Third Eye Blind's 'Motorcycle Driveby' started to play, she turned the stereo down. He stopped to think, and as he was gathering his thoughts about learning to race with Dominic, the lyrics of the song penetrated into his thoughts. Third Eye Blind wasn't one of his favourite bands, but the melancholy nature of the lyrics and the music of the song reinforced the bittersweet feeling of telling anyone about how things had been before Giovanni 'Van' Toretto had been killed. Before everything had changed.

"Yeah. Dom's dad, Van, was a pro stock car racer. He was coming up fast in the pro circuit. He had a garage too, the garage Dom runs now. So after school and on weekends he paid Dom and I to help in the shop and he taught us about cars. He used to drag us to the track every weekend too, to help him with the car. He taught both of us to drive in his stock car. How to race. It's different than drags, I know, but Dom and I both got the same start."

"How was Mr. Toretto killed?"

"The summer Dom and I turned twenty a guy named Kenny Linder clipped Van's bumper coming into a corner and put his car into the wall at a buck twenty. Van burned to death in front of everyone. Me, Dom, Mia, Letty. There was nothin' any of us could do."

"I'm sorry. I know that's never the right thing to say, but I've never known anyone who died in my adult life, so I really don't know what that was like."

The fact she didn't try to emphasize with something she didn't understand sat well with him. That she admitted she didn't know what it was like or what to say was better than all the people who tried to bullshit. He shrugged. "It was rough. Worse for Dom than for any of the rest of us." Vince glanced over at Tempest. Her eyes were firmly on the road, but he could tell he had her full attention anyway. "Dom ran into the guy, Linder, about a week later. Dom was at the track, packing up his dad's car and tools and Linder walked by our garage at the track. Dom had a huge torque wrench, he was packing it, but when he saw Linder walk by he went after him. Just to yell at him I'm sure. But then I don't know what Linder said or did to set Dom off, but Dom started to hit him with this wrench. By the time he was done he'd pulled almost every muscle in his back and arms and Linder was beat over half to death. Linder can't race no more either. He can't drive. He has to take a bus to work. And they sent Dom to jail at Lompoc for two years. He just got out about six months ago. And back when he was convicted the California State Racing Authority banned him off the tracks for life."

"But all he wanted to be was a racer, just like his dad. I mean, all Jesse ever says about Dom is how fast he is behind the wheel and how great a racer he is. How he never wanted to be anything else."

"And now street racing is all he'll ever have. So I have raced. And I have won. I'm pretty good. But Dom's better. And since street racing is the only racing he'll ever have now, I guess I mostly take the back seat and let him have his glory."

"That's really sweet," Tempest answered. She didn't take her eyes off the road for a second, knowing after that admission he wouldn't want her looking at him. But she'd felt her heart melt just a bit when he'd made that admission. "You're a very loyal friend Vince. Dom's lucky he has a friend like you."

He shrugged off her praise. "After Van Toretto practically raised me'n Letty along with Dom and Mia, what else was I supposed to do? It was more like my brother was in jail than my friend. Letty and Mia had no one else. Someone had to do it."

"Yeah, but someone didn't have to be twenty year old you. Someone coulda been some relative of Dominic's."

"Then they woulda put Mia and Letty into foster care. California's a big place, and there ain't enough places for all the kids with no parents. Some of 'em fall through the cracks 'cause its easier. So as long as we didn't make a fuss about it, the social workers all looked the other way that Letty and Mia were only bein' looked after by an twenty year old punk who wasn't nothin' to them but a guy they'd known since they were kids."

Deciding it was time to lighten the mood, Tempest grinned. "Besides, if back then was anything like now, it was Mia who was takin' care of all'a you anyway."

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. "Yeah, I guess she was." He looked across the car and studied her profile. For all her cynicism and sass, she was one hell of a smart, caring woman. "You gonna just cruise this beast the whole way there? I mean, you got Letty, Leon, Dom and Jesse out front'a you."

"That a challenge, V?"

"Sounded like one."

"Remember, you asked for it." She cracked her neck and downshifted out of fifth, started to pick up speed. She passed Jesse neatly. She made the Jetta look like it was standing still. Letty was next and put up a bit more fight. But with Vince egging her on, she had soon left Letty in her rear-view mirror too. When she pulled up beside Leon he made a kissie face at her. She flipped him off and floored her accelerator. The two Skylines were neck and neck for a stretch, neither able to edge out the other. Leon, seemingly tired of their endless tie, dropped a gear and started to edge out in front of her. Before she could do too much more than curse softly about it, Leon's surprise attack had worked and he was out front of her. He quickly changed lanes in front of her and blinked his brake lights at her.

"Son of a bitch!" she cursed at the little round taillights in front of her. Vince chuckled. His laughter rapidly ended when she switched lanes so fast his head cracked off the glass beside it.

"Shit Trouble! Was that necessary?"

"Fuck yes, it was." As she ground out her statement, she simultaneously dropped a gear herself. The Skyline growled in a credible impression of its owner and flew up the outside lane. Before Leon could do much more than look over in shock she had flown past him, middle finger raised in his direction. "How do you like them apples?" she called, laughing at what she imagined was the look on Leon's face.

She looked down at the speedo and saw she was going over a hundred and thirty miles an hour. Dom's RX-7 loomed just ahead of her. "Should I go for it?" she asked Vince, glancing his way.

"You can't take him. Just save yourself the embarrassment." Her trip past Leon had been quite nicely executed, but he didn't think she could possibly take Dominic. It didn't matter how good she was.

"Oh damn it boy! You should know you can't say stuff like that to me, son."

"I'm just tryin' to save you from an ass kickin'."

"Let's put your money where your mouth is."

He raised an eyebrow in shocked disbelief. "You wanna bet on whether or not you can beat Dominic Toretto?"

"Sounds that way, Slick." She inched closer to Dom's bumper.

"Ok, you win—if you get out front of him even for a second—I'll buy your ticket and your snacks tonight."

"And if I don't win?"

"You let me take you out tomorrow night. My choice of venue."

"You're on," she agreed. She signalled her lane change and downshifted again, into third. She started to build up an impressive amount of speed. When she hit seven thousand RPM she shifted into fourth and floored it again. The car jumped ahead with a growl.

Vince was actually surprised how powerful and fast the Skyline was. He was starting to worry for his friend's pride. Tempest had managed to bring her front bumper level with Dom's rear. She slowly crept up until her nose was level with the front tire of Dom's seven.

Dom looked over and that was his first clue what was going on. When Tempest gave him a little two finger salute, flicking her fingers from the corner of her eye out in front of her in a jaunty little gesture and started to pull ahead of him, Vince had to laugh at the shocked look on Dom's face. Her nose edged out in front of Dom's.

"I did mean you have to get this whole car out front of him," Vince clarified.

"I know that. I'm workin' on it." She grinned back.

"You're closer than I thought you'd even get," he admitted. "But you ain't gonna get him."

"We'll see." Tempest thumbed her nitrous button in a light caress. Little did Vince know, she'd turned the system on, but on a delay back at the house. She could press nitrous one and start the system injecting a stage one, fifty horsepower shot. But it was dangerous on a public expressway. She decided to go for it anyway. The road looked clear for a while ahead, and seemed to lay straight too. She hit the button. The car surged ahead with a physical jump. As it was her first time on the spray in the Skyline, the sheer force of it had her laughing in joy. She was flying and it was like running wild. She could only realize she'd hardly analyzed the risk slash benefit ratio of using her nitrous at all. It had been down right spontaneous of her to use her spray when it was dangerous to do so.

Her car surged ahead even farther. Her use of the bottle had taken Dom by surprise. But she didn't get out front of him. Her rear bumper was still flying level with his front.

Dom could see her in her side mirror, as she was seated on the right hand side of her car. She had her head thrown back, laughing, and the look of joy on her face wasn't hard to see. It was clear she lived just for speed. The rush and the challenge was enough for her. It wasn't enough for him. He was driven to be the best. And that included now, in an impromptu race on the expressway. She wasn't beating him. After flipping up his seat and turning on the tanks, he hit the hidden button on his console which caused his A/C button to slide out. He hit his nitrous, his car squealed as the spray was injected into the twin turbo rotary spinning under the hood.

Like she'd sensed he would also use the nitrous after she had, she hit button two, upping her system to a hundred and fifty horsepower shot. Her car rushed ahead. She was so close to having Dom. She could taste her bragging rights she was so close. Just a few inches more and she would have her whole car in front of his.

Then he dropped a gear and pulled ahead so that their doors were even. Try as she might, she couldn't get out front of him. "I gotta give the boy props. He's seriously good," she admitted to Vince.

"Yeah he is. I really can't believe you did this good against him. You made Dom use his nitrous on the expressway. That's no little feat."

"I didn't win."

"You did real good. He's got three years experience you don't, and he grew up around cars. He grew up doin' this. Trust me when I tell you that you did good to keep up, let alone almost get out front."

"Thanks."

"For what?" Vince asked, curiosity written on his face.

"For not rubbing it in."

He looked over at her, shit eating grin on his face. He picked up one the shiny, inky curls resting on her shoulder and thumbed its silken texture. "Trouble, ain't you figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

"There was no lose situation for me. Either I was takin' you out to the movies tonight or I'm takin' you out someplace better tomorrow. I stacked the deck."

She could only laugh at his deviousness. "I guess they don't call you Coyote for nothin' huh?" She figured she should be pissed. But she couldn't find that emotion anywhere. She almost wanted to damn him for telling her about Dom's father, and the role he'd played in the aftermath of Dom's incarceration. Now she felt for Dom. It wasn't as easy to hate him for hating her as it had been. And now that she'd seen just how loyal and caring Vince could be to those who'd earned the privilege, it was hard to remember how badly he'd hurt her too. Was that why he had a thing for Mia? Because he'd felt responsible for her, and watched her play the little woman to his man of the house for two years?

"Nope," he answered her, still grinning like a loon. "You might wanna slow down here. We're gonna exit up ahead. You can see the multiplex from here." He pointed. He was right.

With a sigh she pulled in behind Dom. "At least something good came out of all this."

"What's that?" Vince asked.

"I beat Leon."

He laughed. "I guess you did."