Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews. It's nice getting back into the swing of things. Mark is an OC based on Dom in Fast and Furious. He will get more fleshed out as the series progresses. There are no set pairings as of yet. Everything is still being sorted out in my head.
Over the course of the new few weeks, Kira spent every Friday and Saturday night at the street races, cheering Kat on and became more and more interested in actually doing this for herself. She was amazed that the only person Kat ever lost to was Mark. Kat told her she only raced when she knew she would win, and when Kira asked about racing Mark, Kat just grumbled that one day she WAS going to beat him.
On a Saturday night after the races, Kira pulled Kat aside from the after party that was being held at Racer's Edge. "Kat I've been doing a lot of thinking," she started to say.
"Tommy is going to kill me, you know that right?" Kat asked cutting her off with a smile.
"Not if he doesn't find out," Kira said with a laugh. "I really want to do this," she told her. "The rush… it's what's been missing from my life since…" she trailed off.
"I get it," Kat said squeezing her shoulder. "Well, I knew this was going to happen, so I have a surprise for you, let me grab Mark," she said excusing herself and walking over to him. "Mark, I need you."
"Right here?" Mark asked with a smirk.
"Not that!" Kat said smacking him and laughing. "Kira came to me. She's ready."
"You owe me 20 bucks, I told you she'd tell you before the end of the month," Mark said laughing. "Come on let's show her, another 20 says she stares at you like you're insane when you show her the car."
"No bet, I know what I was like when YOU showed me the Civic," Kat said as they walked over to Kira. "Come with us," she said taking her hand and leading her out behind the garage. "Mark…" she said nodding to the flatbed tow truck.
Mark pulled the cover off the car sitting on the tow truck, or rather; he pulled the cover off of what seemed to resemble a car, maybe, at one point in time. "Here's your car," he told her with a smirk.
Kira blinked at it, "Umm… no offense, but am I supposed to use the tow truck to tow it across the line?" she asked looking up at the heap of junk skeptically.
"No, but this is the car that you're going to fix up so you can drive it across the finish line," Kat informed her.
"Fix it up? I don't know that much about cars! I can change my oil, change a tire, and do some minor engine repairs thanks to Hayley, but how am I supposed to fix this!" Kira exclaimed.
"You won't have to do it alone," Mark told her. "Kat and I will help you. But this is your car, you need to know how to fix it," he told her.
"And now he gives you the speech," Kat murmured to Kira with a giggle.
"Ask any racer, any REAL racer, and they will tell you that you have to know your car inside and out. You have to know what is inside your engine, how to put it together and how to take it apart. You have to know, from the minute you start up your car, how it's running because if there is even the slightest thing off in the purr of the engine, that's the different between crossing the finish line first or not even crossing at all," Mark told Kira. "When you aren't at school, you're here at the garage working with Kat and I on your car, when you aren't here working on the car, we're teaching you how to make it to the finish line without killing yourself, or killing anyone else."
Kira was quiet a minute as she absorbed everything Mark was telling her. It all made sense. She smiled, "I want to learn EVERYTHING," she told him and hugged Kat before going up and hugging Mark. "Thank you guys! I can't wait to get started!"
"You are so welcome," Mark said giving her a squeeze. "If you really want to thank me…" he trailed off.
"Not. For. You!" Kat said smacking him again.
"It's fun riling her up," Mark whispered into Kira's ear, before kissing her cheek. "Be here tomorrow morning, Kat and I will help you get started."
The next day Kira spent the entire day at Racer's Edge, Mark and Kat guiding her through the process of ripping her engine out and taking it apart to be cleaned an refurbished, explaining to her how each individual part played a role in how the car ran, and how she could tell when certain parts were not performing correctly.
By 10 o'clock that night Kira was tired, sore and in desperate need of a shower. Before she could grab her shower kit from her dorm room and head to the showers her phone went off. She picked it up and saw that it was Connor. "Hey Connor," she said tiredly.
"Wow, you sound wiped, what did you do today?" Connor asked with a laugh.
"Had the best time of my life," Kira said with a laugh. "No seriously, I spent the day with Kat and we had too much fun in the sun," she told him.
"Ooh really?" Connor asked the smirk evident in his voice.
"Connor!" Kira exclaimed. "That's 10," she grumbled talking about the beatings she now was going to give to him.
"You love me," Connor told her with a laugh.
"Like a hole in the head," Kira said with the sigh of the long suffering. "So what do you need?"
"Get this! Tommy is organizing a ranger get together, for his old team and us," Connor said excitedly.
"Really! That's awesome! When is it?" Kira asked waking up more and getting excited, Connor in happy mode was always contagious.
"Sometime this summer, what with school and all," Connor told her. "You're coming back for the summer aren't you?"
"Well…" Kira said biting her lip. "I'll come for the get together, but I kinda… oh I found a job!" she said trying to think up a good cover story.
"A job? Really doing what?" Connor asked.
"Ooh… well, it's sorta like," Kira stumbled, not ready that question from Connor. "Parts monkey!" she said, it being the first thing that popped into her head. "At a garage… I grab parts and do inventory for a high-tech garage down here."
"I didn't know you were into cars," Connor said suspiciously.
"Got into them while I'm down here, Florida has a lot of really wicked looking tricked out cars," Kira told him.
"Ooh, cool… well as long as you make it for the get together, otherwise Ethan, Trent and I may just have to go to Florida and kidnap you," Connor said with a laugh.
"Don't you dare," Kira grumbled at him. "I promise I'll be there for the get together," she assured him. "Now it may only be 7 o' clock in Reefside, but it's 10 o'clock here, I need to shower. I have class in the morning," she told him. "I'll call you soon okay? Say hi to the boys for me," she added.
"Alright, later Kira," Connor said hanging up the phone and staring at it for a few minutes. He looked over at Ethan and Trent. "I think Kira's got a secret," he told them.
"What makes you say that?" Ethan asked curiously.
"She said she's not coming home for the summer because she found a job grabbing parts and doing inventory at high-tech garage," Connor told them.
"Kira? Our Kira?" Ethan said in shock.
Trent shook his head, "Maybe she needed the money and that's the first job that came up?"
"She said she's into cars now," Connor told Trent.
"Okay, she's definitely got a secret," Trent said with a nod. "So what do we do about it?"
"Nothing," Ethan said firmly. "Hello, remember the last time we spied on her? I'm still going to the chiropractor every now and again," he told them. "Not to mention she's in Florida and we're in California."
"Ethan's right, when she's ready, she'll tell us," Connor told Trent, his back twinging slightly at the memory of the pounding they'd all gotten from their yellow when they were caught spying on her and the new guy she was dating.