Crime, Betrayal, and Love (A Seventeen Street Racing AU)

XXVIII | Warning

"Hi, I'd like to get a-" Sana begins to ramble off a list of food, snacks, and drinks for the group. While waiting in line, we played a quick game of rock, paper, scissors shoot, and she was the unfortunate loser. Although she didn't seem to mind ordering, even though the order was long and hard to remember. Between me, Jisoo, Joshua, Jun, and of course, Sana, there were many different dishes.

Finally, Sana finishes, and we move to the side of the stand to wait for our food.

"What do you think they're gonna do this year?" Jun asks as we wait.

Joshua shrugs, "Could be anything. I mean, last year they only let half of the original winners pass. It'll be difficult to top that chaos."

I look to Jisoo to see if she knows what they're talking about, but she shakes her head at me.

Thankfully, Joshua senses our confusion and begins to explain. "Every year, Rosé adds a twist to the third preliminary race. It's part of what makes the Golden Rose Races so popular."

"Order for Sana!" someone calls out, and we go to grab the three trays of food. I'm surprised by how quickly we got it, even though I know they're pre-making food to have things go by faster.

"We have about half an hour before the race starts," Joshua says, "We should go get our seats and eat there." Everyone agrees, and we follow him as he heads for the arena.

I naturally fall back in the group and walk behind everyone at a slightly slower pace. As we approach the arena entrance and the crowd begins to grow denser, a hand wraps around my forearm, and another hand clamps over my mouth before pulling me into the dark shadows of the arena.

I struggle to get away as I'm pulled further away from anyone who can help. One hand attempts to hit the person behind me, and the other reaches for my pants pocket, which holds my knife.

Before I can reach the weapon, whoever holds me spins me around and pushes me to the wall.

I go to scream now that a hand isn't blocking me, but I stop myself when I see Changkyun holding his hands up. While I don't call out for help, I still bring out my knife and point it at Changkyun.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"I really need to talk to you!" Changkyun speaks in a flustered tone, frantically looking back toward the crowd.

I sarcastically laugh, "And that was the best way? Have you gone crazy?"

"There was no time to do anything else! I just learned about it."

I cock my head at him, "About what?"

"Monsta X," he starts, speaking as if he isn't part of them. "Jooheon and Hyungwon are planning on ambushing the Seventeen racers tonight."

"Why are you telling me this?" I question him, doubting he's telling the truth. For all I know, he's using me to somehow squander Seventeen.

Changkyun rolls his eyes at me and scoffs. "Because you and Jisoo are my friends, and I want you guys to trust me," He says as if it was obvious. And as if he hadn't just secretly pulled me away from everyone to a discreet location. "Even if it means helping those jack-asses," He adds on a bitter note.

While still wary of him, I begin to soften my distrust. I have to hold back a chuckle. Even after everything, I still can't stop myself from giving too much trust to people who might not deserve it. At least tonight, there's some test to his words.

"I should go," I say, sure that at least Jisoo has noticed my absence.

"Yeah. Just make sure to warn someone before the race starts." We sit in silence for a moment before Changkyun walks off, with a slight limp, opposite direction from the stadium.