Loving the Buster//Brian O'Conner

Four

Jason watches me as I get ready for my date.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch me?" I ask.

"I can't believe you're going on a date with Spilner," Jason confesses.

"I could be doing a job with Dom instead," I tell him.

Jason shakes his head. "I hate that you do those jobs."

"I don't remember you complaining when I helped you pay for your first semester of law school," I argue. "And your second. And third."

"I had a little talk with Brian," Jason says.

"Yeah?" I ask. "What about?"

"I told him not to break your heart or I'd break his head," Jason tells me.

"Thanks," I laugh.

"Your family," Jason tells me. "I'd never let anyone hurt you."

Brian and I are sitting across from each other at Cha Cha Cha.

"I'm surprised you didn't cancel," I confess. "After what Dom and Vince did."

"They just wanted to make sure they could trust me," Brian says.

"Trust doesn't come easy for most of us," I state.

"So, how is it, anyways, that the gang came to be?" Brian asks.

I laugh. "The what?"

"The gang," Brian repeats.

"The gang?" I shake my head. "No, we don't call ourselves a gang."

"What do you call yourselves?" Brian asks.

"We're a team. We call ourselves a team," I tell him.

Brian laughs. "All right. How did the team come to be?"

"Well, that's a whole lot of history," I state.

"I've got time," Brian assures.

"Okay. Vince grew up with Dom and my brother. Actually, he didn't ever actually grow up, as you can tell," I joke. "But they were friends as kids. And Letty, she just lived down the street. Always into cars, though. Ever since she was, like, 10 years old. So, naturally, you know, Dom always had her attention. And then she turned 16..."

Brian smiles. "And then she had Dom's attention."

"Yeah. It's funny how that works, isn't it?" I remark.

"Yeah. How does Jesse fit into the whole thing?" Brian asks.

"Jesse. Well, Jesse and Leon just sort of showed up one night and never, ever left," I explain. "It's just the way Dom is, you know. Dom's like... He's like gravity. Everything just gets pulled to him. Even you."

Brian shakes his head lightly. "No. No. The only thing that pulled me in was you. Being friends with Dom is just a bonus."

I laugh. "That's good. That's good. It's nice to come first every once in a while."

"You never told me how you got involved with the team," Brain tells me.

"Mia and I were always friends," I tell him. "For as long as I can remember."

"Why do you live with Mia and Dom, not your brother?" Brian asks.

"When my mom kicked me out I was sixteen. Jason was twenty two almost twenty three. He had just finished college. He didn't have the time of the money to take care of me." I smile. "Want to go for a drive?"

I'm actually a little surprised Brian let me drive the Skyline. I swear this car is his baby.

Brian smiles as I pull up in front of Harry's.