Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Any lyrics recognized belong to Insane Clown Posse.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: The tequila was already beginning to work it's magic and her mind was already clouding over. Her fingers were tingling and she was eager to get back on the dance floor and dance the rest of the night away. She swept her eyes across the dance floor, not recognizing anyone from her old life.

Chapter Forty Five

"You think Brer's doing fine without me?" Shorty asked suddenly. She was already reaching into her pocket for her cell phone. There were no missed messages and she took that as a sign that everything was alright. However, she couldn't help but send Dom a text just to make sure. Once he replied that both kids were fast asleep, she returned her eyes to the dance floor, ready for another round.

Gulping down the rest of her drinks, Shorty turned to make her way to the dance floor and bumped into a woman. When the woman turned to face Shorty, either to apologize or give her shit, Shorty's breath hitched in throat and stung like bile.

Of all the people in Los Angeles, this was one person she really didn't want to see. Kimberly, or Kim, had changed quite a bit from the day when Shorty had raced her way back when. Instead of the sweet faced girl, she'd grown into a stunning woman, maybe even more beautiful than Mia. Something she seemed to realize as she looked down her straight nose at Shorty. She couldn't tell if it was disdain, dislike, or just awkward shock that flittered through Kim's eyes.

"Kim," Shorty said, "You look, taller."

"It's the heels. No more sneakers for me. I got a good man, I like to look nice for him."

Unsure of what her statement meant, Shorty rubbed the back of her neck in agitation. She didn't want to cause a scene and she definitely didn't want a confrontation, so she nodded her head, smiled, then motioned to Letty and Mia. It wasn't right of her to place the spotlight on her friends, but they were the ones who assured her that Kim was a nice girl and perfect for Leon.

"Hey Kim," Mia said cheerfully, completely oblivious to obvious tension between her and Kim. "How's your night so far?"

"It's going real good. How long have you ladies been here?" she asked. "Hey Letty."

"Hey," Letty answered, her eyes swinging to Shorty in question.

Shorty blinked, hoping it was enough to show Letty how uncomfortable, and a little jealous, she was. This beautiful woman was what she'd been replaced with. How in the hell had it taken Leon so long to move on when he had this parading herself around in front of him?

Grabbing Letty by the arm she tugged her towards the bar, "We're gonna go grab a drink. Be right back."

Dragging Letty to the door, she stuck her hand out and let the bouncer stamp it as well as Letty's before rushing from the bar. Once outside she walked around the side of the building and slid down the wall onto her butt. Despite being overwhelmed she managed to keep her breathing slow and even, though she wanted to throw a hissy fit like any respectable ex-girlfriend would.

"You've gotta be kidding me. Of the all the fucking places," she groaned.

Already she was searching through her purse for the joint she'd bought from Pedro. She stuck it to her lip and dug around until she found her lighter, quickly bringing it to life and pulling hard on the end. She passed it to Letty and blew her smoke straight up, resting the back of head against the cold wall.

Letty shrugged, slid down the wall and took a deep drag, "You had to see her sometime, Boo."

"Yeah," Shorty answered, accepting the joint back, "I know that. But why the shit didn't you tell me the girl looks like the fucking Heidi Klum?"

"I thought more like Giselle."

"Seriously. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, it fucking does," she snapped, though she was unsure why. All she could feel at that moment was something repulsive. A feeling she'd never felt before and she didn't like it.

"Why?"

"I don't know. It just does." Shorty knew perfectly well why she was so rattled. Not only was Kim now taller, but she was also a blonde, with the bone structure of a Greek God, complete with a large rack even Pamela Anderson would covet. In a word, she was perfect. The type Leon had always loved, been drawn too, and apparently went back to as soon his Hispanic disgrace high tailed it out of the city.

Letty took another deep pull on the joint, savoring the taste of the smoke, "Why though? You're not trying to get with Leon again. Are you?"

"No."

"Then it shouldn't matter."

"Well it does. It makes me feel inadequate."

She handed the joint back to Shorty and stood, hauling her up as well, "That's not her fault, Boo. She's not that bad. Ditzy now, but she can still race."

"Not very well," Shorty snorted, the memory of her first race in L.A. springing forth.

Letty caught her in a headlock and rubbed her knuckles against her head roughly. Shorty hadn't received a noogie since her days in New York and she laughed through the pain. Only Letty could use violence in any situation and come out on top. They linked arms and rounded the building, showing their stamps and pushing back into the crowded bar.

She knew it was downright ridiculous to feel so insecure. But slowly the joint worked its magic and by the time they reached the bar again she was finding she didn't care quite as much. Kim could be everything Leon wanted, Shorty herself, had already got the best part of him anyways. And with that last thought she ordered another drink for herself and Letty and returned to the dance floor.

They danced for a few short songs but the effects of the alcohol and the joint made it difficult for her to stop from swaying. She'd always loved to just relax when she was stoned and now was no different. Shorty and Letty returned to their table, holding hands and heaved their heavy feeling bodies onto their chairs.

Mia and Kim stopped talking and looked at them with curious eyes. A raised eyebrow from Mia and a snicker from Shorty and Letty and she knew they were more stoned than drunk. "How you girls doing?"

"Fantastic," Shorty admitted. "Did I ever tell you Pedro is my favorite? Cause he really is," she dissolved into giggles with Letty.

"He's the young one right?" Kim asked, her gaze washing over the bar.

Positive that Kim was searching for a way out, Shorty hoped she found it soon. She was determined to enjoy her night with her girls. Leon may belong to Kim now, but Letty and Mia were hers. "We're talking about homies, homies. We are motherfucking homies, homies!" she sang, answering Kim's question without answering it.

"So Pedro's the young one then?" she asked again.

"Yeah, he's the young one," Leon answered, as he stepped up to the table.

"Leon, baby," Kim cooed, instantly beaming at him and jumping into his arms like an over eager virgin. "You're here, finally."

Shorty rolled her eyes at Letty as Kim attached her face to Leon's and moaned loudly over the music. When they broke apart she caught Shorty's eye and held it, though she didn't smirk or frown.

"I got held up somewhere, sorry."

Leon showing up was icing on the cake, and with Kim draping herself on him like a fur shawl, Shorty was even more eager to get rid of her. But she knew she had to be civil for Brer's case, and she nodded at Leon, somewhat stiffly, "Hey, Leon."

"Hey, Shorty."

His posture was guarded and she felt just as awkward as he did. "Hey Lett, Mi. Where's Dom and V?"

"It's Ladies night," Letty answered then added, "Which you'd know if you hung out a little more," under her breath so only Shorty could hear.

Shorty covered her mouth and grinned into her palm. Snarky Letty always had a way of making her feel better about everything. Without a doubt, she knew that comment was aimed at Kim and was made simply to show which side of the fence Letty was really on.

When she looked back, she found Leon watching her. It unnerved her how familiar it felt for him to just watch her without saying a word. He'd always been comfortable with her long silences and he'd still be looking at her hours later if given the chance. Shorty wanted to look away but found herself unable to pull her eyes from his. His green orbs so reminded her of Brer and she instantly wanted to slap some sense into him. Who wouldn't be thrilled to have Brer as a son? He should breaking down her door to get to know his son!

"How's it going?" he asked her, peeling Kim off his chest and standing her beside him.

Kim pouted and slid her hand into Leon's. Her possessiveness was a little over the top but Shorty remembered how possessive she'd once been over Leon. "It's going really good. And you?"

"I'm doing fine," Leon answered, his eyes still holding hers.

In her peripheral vision she caught Mia and Letty exchanging a look, unsure of it's meaning. "That's good to hear."

"Well, we better go meet up with Kim's team."

"Okay."

Kim beamed brightly and waved to Letty and Mia as she tried to tug Leon in the opposite direction. He looked over his shoulder one last time at her then disappeared into the crowd. Not a word had been mentioned about Brer and she was certain that no one had mentioned the fact to Kim. If she'd known, Shorty figured their confrontation would have been a little more heated.

"Well, that was awkward," Mia commented.

"You're telling me. The tension was killing me. You two need to just go at it and get it over with."

"Shut up, Lett."

Letty laughed and playfully shoved her, "What? I was talking about having it out, not getting it on."

The three girls settled into silence while the music continued to blare around them. Of course their evening out couldn't just go smoothly without drama. She'd always had a problem with trouble finding her wherever she went and girls night was no different. She didn't know if she wanted to stay but she knew seeing Leon and Kim there was only the beginning. She and Leon lived mere blocks apart and if she wanted him in Brer's life she was going to have to deal with the repercussions of her decisions.

"I say we get some more shots and enjoy the rest of our night," Mia said, pulling her out of her thoughts and back to the present. "On Hector," she laughed, pulling his wallet from her purse and holding it high over her head.

Shorty laughed and snatched the wallet from Mia's hand, rifling through the bills inside. She pulled four twenties and a fifty from the cash pocket, "Muchos gracias, hermano!" (Thank you, brother!)

"How'd you get Hec's wallet?"

"It must have fallen into my purse this morning. He won't mind. It's for his precious baby sister, after all."

Shorty bat her eyes lashes innocently and gravitated to the bar under the control of the money in her hand. Poor Hector had no idea what kind of mess was coming home to him that evening, and this time it wasn't her. Mia was going to be hurting just as bad as she and Letty were the next morning.

Throwing the fifty on the bar she motioned for the bartender to line up shots that seemed to go on forever. Over the course of the next three hours she, Letty, and Mia drank all one hundred and thirty dollars of Hector's money. They'd taken their last shot minutes before and they were currently using the bar to stand.

Shorty's vision was blurry but for the first time in five years she was blissfully free of thought. Her only inclination was to crawl into her bed with Banjo watching over her. Her stalker would be long gone so she wouldn't even need to worry about making sure the lights were off.

"I'm gonna be sick tonight," Mia smiled, lifting an empty shot glass off the counter and holding it to her eye like a spyglass.

She closed one eye and swung her head back and forth while she and Letty clung to the bar and laughed hysterically. Tomorrow this probably wouldn't be as hilarious as they thought, but luckily for them they probably wouldn't remember.

"Mi, give me your keys. I'll drive us home."

Shorty reached for the keys that Mia dangled on one finger and stumbled forward to catch them as the slid off the end. She giggled again and righted herself much more forcefully than was needed. She tipped backwards into Letty's open arms and they struggled to steady themselves while the bartender snatched the keys from Shorty's loose grip. "I think you guys should catch a cab."

"For real?" Letty groaned in disgust.

The idea of sitting in an old stinky cab was not the perfect end to an evening of ups and downs. They'd all been driving their own cars since they'd hit sixteen and taking a cab was just something they didn't do. If worse came to worse, they'd call Hector to come and get them, but no way in hell were they getting in a cab.

"Yeah, you three can barely stand. I can get you a cab, or maybe one of the servers will drive you home, but you aren't driving yourself," he said.

Leaning against the bar again, Shorty faced the bartender and looked him up and down, "You're cute."

"You're not so bad yourself, but you're still not driving home," he laughed, brushing off her attempt to get their car keys back.

"I'll drive them home."

Both Shorty and Letty groaned loudly. Leon was the last person either of them wanted to see at that moment. Reaching forward, Shorty snagged the keys from the bartender and handed them back to Mia. Then she and Letty turned around clumsily and peered through heavy lidded eyes at him. Kim was staring at him as well, her mouth set in a sour line and her hands on her hips. "Why? They can get a cab home."

"Actually, we drank all the money," Mia cut in, her wild giggles a welcome distraction for her and Letty.

They pulled Mia between them and held her up as best they could. She was almost dead weight and her knees buckled every so often "Well we can give you some money for a cab, then," Kim smiled sweetly, her eyes staring daggers at Shorty again.

"No Kim, I said I'd drive them home," Leon snapped, and he turned to face his irate girlfriend.

"But, baby, I'm tired," she whined.

Her voice grated on Shorty's nerves and she snorted loudly without meaning too. Had she whined when she was with Leon? She sure as hell hoped not because Kim was already annoying her, she couldn't imagine how Leon was feeling. He'd never been the kind of guy to put up with the kind of prissy shit Kim was exhibiting now.

"So go home then. I'm driving my teammates home."

Shorty didn't correct his "teammates" statement to "teammates and their plus one". She knew from the way Kim's eyes widened that she'd also caught how Leon had referred to her.

"Come over after then, I'm not ready for bed yet," she purred, her manicured fingernails dragging against the skin showing at his unbuttoned collar.

Shorty felt the bile rise in her throat at the sight but she turned her eyes from the couple and towards the door. It seemed to be miles away and she wished she could just pick up her feet and take off, but her legs felt like weights. And they stayed where they were.

"I'm tired Kim, I'll just see you tomorrow," he said, with an air of finality that Shorty had never heard from him before.

He'd never been one to let things get to him and for the first time Shorty saw that he'd changed as much, or more than she had in the past few years. He was easy to anger now and Shorty didn't really like it. He was always the calm rock, settling disputes before they got out of hand.

"Fine, baby," she cooed, her bright eyes full of repressed anger. She kissed Leon deeply and pressed her hips to his in another attempt to ignite Shorty. And although it did what she wanted, she didn't let it show anymore than an eye roll thrown at Letty and Mia. "I love you, baby."

The baby endearment had quickly worn out it's welcome in their group and Mia spoke up, "His name is Leon."

Letty and Shorty exploded into raucous laughter and Mia looked appalled that she'd said exactly what was on her mind. They left the couple standing there and quickly made their way towards the door. Not only did Shorty not want to hear Leon declare his love for Kim, but she needed fresh air to calm her laughter.

They tumbled out the doors in a miss match of limbs and laughter. Mia's knees finally buckled and she fell to her knees on the grass next to the walkway from the parking lot. Shorty collapsed onto her buttocks and let Letty fall between her thighs and lean her back against her front. The three of the must have made an amusing sight because Leon just shook his head, a small smile upon his lips, when he stopped in front of them.

"Let me guess, Shorty put you up to it," he said, his voice almost the same light and carefree one she was so used to.

"Whoa, for once I didn't do this," she laughed, resting her cheek against Letty's.

"Hector did it," Mia giggled, again pulling his wallet from her purse.

"Who bought the drinks with his money?" His knowing gaze settled on her again and she tore her eyes away, uncomfortable that he still seemed to know her so well. "Well, up you get," he said, his hands on Mia's forearms, pulling her unsteadily to her feet.

Leon led Mia to the parking lot. Shorty scrambled to her feet after Letty and followed her to the gleaming yellow machine that was synonymous with Leon. The car was still as beautiful as it had been before and she notice that he hadn't lowered it anymore than it had been. "Lee, we can't fit in your back seat," Letty complained.

Though Shorty didn't voice it, she whole heartedly agreed. The roll cage took up much of the back seat. And they were drunk enough that if he took a turn too sharp they were unlikely to stop their heads from slamming into the metal piping. "You're joking right?"

"Can't you just take Mia's car? I'll bring you back in the A.M. for your car."

He sighed heavily but alarmed his car and walked across the parking lot to Mia's Acura Integra. She tossed the keys to him and climbed into the front passenger seat, passing out before they'd even slid into their own seats.

The silence in the car was thick and tangible. Shorty clutched Letty's hand and Leon didn't say anything until they reached Echo Park. "Where you all going?"

"Mia's probably going to Hec's," Letty slurred, her tongue now catching up to the amount of alcohol they'd consumed. "I'm going home. Boo, you gonna crash at our house?"

"Can I come get the kid tomorrow morning?"

"Mhmm," she answered softly, her head lolling drunkenly on her shoulders.

"I'm going home too," Shorty said, her eyes finding Leon's in the rearview mirror.

He didn't say anything but turned towards Hector's house to let Mia off first. On the way into the cul-de-sac Shorty made sure not to turn towards Vince's house on the opposite side of the car. Although, she figured the other three occupants knew how much she wanted Vince back she wasn't going to make it obvious. Letty and Mia still thought she was brave, how shocked would they be to find out the complete opposite? That she was a coward and an emotional wreck.

Leon pulled the Skyline up beside the curb by Hector's house and helped Mia out of the car. She was all heavy limbs and spastic movements, while Letty had passed out completely in the back seat beside her. Helping Leon haul Mia to the front door would have been the polite thing to do but she found herself unwilling to move. The sooner she was away from Leon the better she'd be. It just felt too weird being in his presence, even more so now that it'd been for an extended period of time.

Instead, against her better judgment she shimmied into the front seat so when they drove past Vince's house she'd have an unobstructed view. And it wouldn't look like she was purposely trying to see what was going on there.

When Leon slid back into the car, he seemed a little taken aback that she was sitting beside him but kept it to himself. He pulled away from the curb and Shorty's heart sped up as they neared his house. It'd be a quick drive by but it would be enough to hold her over for a few days.

The house was dark but his car was parked on the driveway. She wondered what he was doing. Sleeping? Watching television? Fucking a nameless broad? Either way, not being included hurt deeper than she would ever admit out loud.

She sighed softly and settled back into her seat while the car neared the end of the cul-de-sac. He paused at the intersection, "What way?"

She knew he knew where she lived since Vince had given the info freely to everyone the night of the races, but she answered anyway. "Turn right, it's across the street from the park. Brown one. Number nine thirty seven."

Leon nodded and drove on in silence. The silence, which used to be so easy, now felt like a suffocating mass. Her need to talk to disperse the awkwardness was immense. Even talking about Kim would be better than sitting in uncomfortable silence. Shorty contemplated waking Letty up so she could help her with the situation. Instead, she stared straight ahead.

When he pulled onto her parking pad and parked the car Shorty wanted nothing more than to jump out. Banjo was likely going nuts in the house waiting for his family to come home and she was sure he desperately needed to empty his bladder. "You gonna be alright?"

Her tongue felt thick and dry as it darted out to wet her lips. Was she going to be alright? Wasn't that the million dollar question? "Yeah, I'll be fine." She laughed at herself inwardly, knowing she'd never be fine without Leon and Vince in her life. They made her a better person, and frankly, she could always use the help in that matter.

"Aren't you always?" he muttered.

Unsure whether his comment was intended to be snide she let it slide. Not that there was no other choice, If he wanted to call her out, he could. She definitely deserved his anger. "Yeah, Leon. I always am."

He snorted.

And that was that. She slid out of the car with a glance over her shoulder before she stood. His face was looking at his lap but she could see the rigidity in his jaw. A second later his muscles twitched angrily. Even now she was in awe of his facial structure. It was absurd to find him attractive when he was obviously holding back an angry retort.

"Goodnight Leon."

She shut the door behind her and quickly walked around the car. She unlocked her door and pushed inside to an excited and enthusiastic Banjo. His small nub of a tail thrashed against his bottom and she locked the door before stumbling her way to the sliding doors to let him out.

Resting her head against the cool glass she tried to block the last hour from her thoughts. Sorting out the obvious innuendo in her conversation with Leon would have to take place eventually, but it likely wouldn't be the next day or the day after.

After Banjo galloped back into the house she locked the sliding doors and followed him up to her bedroom. He was already settled in on the bed by the time she climbed in, and soon enough she was as fast asleep as him.

A/N: Thanks to Violet201, ILoveAnime89, wrestlenascargirl, and Love Ink for the wonderful reviews. Shout out's to TheCivilWars and wrestlenascargirl for the alerts and favourites!

Cheers!