A Spy Racers Christmas

Chapter 3

Echo, Cisco, and Frostee made their way out of the rink and began heading back towards the rental booth to return their skates. Layla went to follow, but Tony grabbed her hand. She looked confused for a moment but didn't protest.

"Uh, we'll catch up with you guys in a bit," Tony called after them. "I wanna get the hang of this."

"Right," Frostee said, glancing at Tony's hand on Layla's. "So, Layla, you're staying too?

"Somebody has to make sure Toretto gets back in one piece," Layla said, earning a playful glare from Tony. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Oh, we know you will," Echo muttered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, we'll see you guys later. Try not to fall, T!"

Tony and Layla waved and took the rink once more, disappearing soon into the crowd of other skaters. Cisco, Echo, and Frostee began walking down some of the streets surrounding the square.

"How much you wanna bet we don't see those two again for the rest of the night?" Frostee asked.

"I'd bet my FroYo machine on that," Cisco replied. "And you know how much I love that thing."

"I don't get why they don't just straight up tell us when they want to hang out alone," Echo said. "Like do they not realize how obvious it is?"

"This is Tony and Layla we're talking about," Frostee reasoned, almost tripping over a crack in the sidewalk as he stared at his phone screen. "Tony is probably the most oblivious person ever when it comes to this kind of thing. And you know how secretive Layla is. Honestly, I doubt they've even talked to each other about how they feel.

"I mean...there's other ways than just talking to let someone know how you feel."

"Echo!"

"Yo, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Uh, can we change the subject?" Cisco asked.

Just then, the trio reached the Saks Fifth Avenue store. A crowd was gathered in the street, watching as a sea of multicolored lights danced across the storefront, creating scenes of christmas trees, twinkling lights, and the illusion of a castle on the building.

"Awesome!" Frostee exclaimed as they stopped to watch the show. "Ooh, I could totally program something like this to play on the front of the garage back in LA."

"Yeah that would be dope!" Echo said. "I can help you with the designs."

"Oh, bro, you could do it at your family's restaurant, too," Cisco added. "That would bring in a lot of customers."

They stayed until the end of the light show, which lasted about 3 minutes, and then started heading back the way they came. The tree lighting would be starting soon and Miss Nowhere would kill them if they were late.

Back at the ice rink, Tony's skating was actually improving quite well thanks to Layla. Things had started off a little rocky, with Tony having to hold both of Layla's hands and pretty much have her drag him forward while she skated backwards.

"How the heck did you not fall when we were racing?" Layla had asked, giggling as Tony used her arms to steady himself for the tenth time

Now, about 15 minutes later, he'd gotten the hang of it, and they skated slowly around the rink, side by side.

"So," Tony began once they'd fallen into a rhythm. "You said you've been all over the country for Christmas- what's that like?"

"When I was younger, Christmas was always a lot of fun," Layla told him, keeping her gaze straight ahead. "Gum Neck is a small town, so everyone would kind of celebrate together. And my dad always made cinnamon pancakes on Christmas morning. I loved it."

She was smiling now, reminiscing on the memories.

"But then, after my..." Suddenly, she hesitated. Tony noticed but didn't pry, and eventually Layla continued, opting to leave out whatever she'd been about to say.

"Anyway, then we moved to Texas, and after that things just weren't the same. We moved around a couple times to other towns throughout the state for the next two years, and then I left home for good. Made my way to Vegas over the next year, and that's where I met Shashi and the SH1FTER crew. Then we went to LA and...well, you know the rest."

"Wow," Tony breathed, looking at Layla with concern. She'd never even come close to sharing that much about her past before now. "So that's what you meant when you said it was usually just passing through places."

"Yeah," Layla sighed. "Not much time for Christmas celebrations when you're always on the run."

"How old were you when you left home?"

"Fourteen."

Tony stopped skating and turned to look at her

"Layla..." He started, but she cut him off.

"I know, I know, it's awful and sad," she said, shaking her head. "But I don't wanna take the fun out of tonight by telling you my sob story. Let's talk about something else, okay?"

Tony wanted to tell her that he was actually overjoyed by the fact that she trusted him enough to tell him about her life and didn't mind listening at all, but it was clear that Layla had reached her limit.

"I've got a better idea," He told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the exit of the ice rink. "From what you've told me, you haven't had a real Christmas in awhile. So we're gonna make up for all those lost years."

"Tony, what are you talkin about?"

"We're in New York! Anything you wanna do for Christmas, they probably have it. So let's go have some fun!"

"You realize we have like 20 minutes till we have to meet Miss Nowhere, right?"

"Since when are you worried about missing curfew?"

"Good point. Okay, then, lead the way, Toretto."