Running Red Lights

1. Normal

"So, what does a girl like you do?" Brian asked.

"I'm not one of those party-hard-in-the-club kind of girls. I'm one of those work-hard-and-sleep-in-Saturday-morning kind of girls." Carissa told Brian.

He was a newcomer, with the inglorious surname of "Spilner" like some crazy-ass murderer.

Sure, he was pretty cute, but technically speaking, Carissa Maria Omar was already taken, if taken was even the right word. Otherwise engaged, in a relationship, whatever to call it, she wasn't sure anymore. She thought back to the time in fifth grade, when the Torettos first took her in as a foster child.

She'd been a crazy 13-year-old, and Vince Collins was 15, and crazy about her from the first time he saw her.

They also drove each other crazy when they weren't driving like crazy. That's what they did in Los Angeles- drive in whatever street race they could make it to.

She was scared that first day at the Toretto's house. Mrs. Toretto had treated her so sweetly- she'd always wanted a daughter- and Dom was already protective of her. He was strapping already at 15 years old, towering over the little foster kid, who he already called "sis" and she felt safe around him.

"Just don't call me "Carrie". " she said.

"I won't, sis." Dom said. True to his word, Dom never did anything to make Carissa mad- not if he could help it. He was just never sure of what she'd do.

She was always edgy, Dom noticed. Maybe she'd warm up if he introduced her to Letty and Vince.

To Letty, she stuck by her like glue, and, just to annoy Dom and Vince, they'd sometimes carry on conversations in Spanish. Vince was smitten with the dark-haired girl with the frightened eyes right away, and had a strange way of showing it. First, he nearly bullied her, then beat up some punks who tried to assault her after school one day. She threw some nasty punches, but it was Vince's shouting that made them stop.

"Leave her alone!" Vince had bellowed at the bigger boy, shoving him aside. Instead of hiding behind Vince, Vince watched in surprise as she took a swing, and got the kid square on the jaw. There was blood, and so Vince grabbed her hand and ran- from the teachers, of course. They were behind a maintenance building, when Carissa wrenched her arm out of his much-bigger hand, which was clamped all the way around her small arm.

"What was that all about?" she demanded.

"You needed rescuing." he said, watching for anyone who might've followed them.

"I can take care of myself." she huffed.

"No you can't, you're too small, but you punch pretty hard."

"Maybe if I hit you, you'll know how hard." she snapped.

"Whoah, there." Vince said. "I'll never hurt you."

She didn't say anything. For the rest of his life, Vince was mostly true to his word.

With each passing year, Vince fell a little more in love with Carissa. When she turned sixteen, however, all hell broke loose. She was beautiful, a young woman now, not just a gangly girl, and Vince wasn't the only one who noticed. As for Letty, Dom noticed her now that she was also sixteen.

Dom and Letty were boyfriend and girlfriend, but no one was sure what Vince and Carissa were. Everyone knew that Vince would've followed her into a burning building- but would she?

She never dated anyone else, and any guys who asked her out were quickly rebuffed. 'Not my type" was always the answer. Vince? None of the girls were very attracted to a guy who was obviously in love with someone else, and Vince didn't exactly have the most charming personality to begin with. Letty had her hands full beating all the girls off of Dom, none of whom he cared about.