MPH (hs)

Chapter One

* Months Prior *

Beth

The road ahead of us leads to nothing, I'm pretty sure. Nothing is in sight, nothing but the pitch black darkness and the dust that has been blown upon the windshield by the car that sped around us and into the night. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to accompany my house mate to this 'get together.' I could be in bed, doing something I find more comfortable. Large crowds have never the type of atmosphere I usually surround myself in.

The sound of honking horns catches my attention. The darkness has disappeared, revealing the large space in front of us filled with dozens of cars. I've never seen anything like this before, cars lined up, side by side, just parked everywhere. People sit on the hoods and trunks of their cars, socializing with the people around them.

"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun, " Stacy says as the car comes to a stop.

"Mhmm" I reply as I pull on the car door handle, getting off and exposing myself into the cold, night atmosphere. The smell of gasoline and smoke fill the air. What kind of "social gathering" is this? I look over to Stacy as she begins to search for her boyfriend, who was participating in this event.

"This way Beth!" She says as she catches a hold of my wrist and pulls me towards a large group of people surrounding a couple of cars.

We enter the mass of people, in search of her boyfriend who was apparently, the reason for this swarm. Once we get to the center, Stacy immediately wraps her arms around Jake, with him doing the same in return.

"Shows over everybody!" One of the guys shouts as the crowd begins to leave.

"So you've brought Annabeth to watch the race huh?" Jake says as he turns his attention from Stacy to me. Race? That's what they're doing?

I nod, and watch as the two lovebirds interact with each other, the rest of the world oblivious to them. Stacy would always talk about him, from how they met to where they are now. Not the typical love story, but it still fit into the category. I look around, trying to avoid the awkward situation.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, okay?" I say, not wanting to seem like a disturbance.

"Yeah, I'll text you once the it starts" Stacy replies, then smiles back at Jake.

"And try to stay close, these events aren't very 'alone-friendly'" Jake adds.

I agree and begin to walk around, stopping every once and a while whenever I find something interesting. What does one do here? I'll just act like I know what I'm doing. I look around and find a large source of light coming from behind a couple of cars.

I walk further towards it and am soon facing a large bonfire that has been set up in the middle of a circle of cars. After pulling in the ends of my jacket, I extend my arms and rub them together in front of the fire. It's been really cold tonight, and this fire has definitely helped. I take in the extra warmth and soon worry about the grumbling in my stomach. Great.

Looking around looking for any source of food available, I catch the glowing lights of a 'FOOD' sign . Only a few feet away, a food truck with a couple of people standing beside it is parked. I don't want to worry about this later. Might as well eat now.

I walk over and pick up one of the menus that is set on the truck's outer counter. I glimpse through the list of food, trying to decide what to order. I lay my eyes upon the different types of hotdogs they offer, tapping on the picture of the bacon-wrapped dog with my finger.

"I wouldn't order that if I were you," a low, and slightly audible voice spoke behind me. What? I turn in confusion to see who it was, and meet the gaze of a tall guy, with a smile on his face. "You see that guy over there, he just ordered that," he says, slightly laughing, as he points. We both turn and find a man leaning against a trash bin, vomiting.

"Oh, I see, thanks. Oh. Wow, he's really going at it, " I say turning back to him, returning the smile.

"Yeah, but you should order this, may I?" he asks as he extends his hand towards me.

After I hand him the menu, he looks through it, and I can't help but look at him. His brown hair, somewhat curly, is pulled back in a bun. The lighting of the fire nearby, reveals one side of his face more than the other. His greenish eyes skim the pages of the menu, then look back to me as he points to one of the items on the menu.

"Guacamole Cheeseburger?" I question his random choice, giving him a confused smile just thinking of the meal.

"Yeah it tastes way better than it sounds, don't worry" he replies as we both laugh.

"Are you gonna order or what!?" the man from inside the food truck exclaims.

"Uhh, I'll have the guacamole cheeseburger" I say facing the guy next to me, as he sends me a reassuring nod. "Are you going to order anything?" I ask him.

"I'm fine, had one earlier," he responds as he walks over to one of the tables behind us.

I pay for my meal and sit across him. I watch as he moves one of the napkin dispensers aside.

"Oh! I'm Harry by the way" he says extending his arm in front of me.

"I'm Beth" I respond, taking his hand in mine. The warmth his hand radiates somewhat soothes the cold I have been feeling since earlier tonight.

He seems to notice and quickly reaches into his jacket pockets. Harry pulls out a pair of gloves.

"Here, these will help," he says, handing them to me as he laughs a bit. I look at the gloves and then to him. "C'mon, as cool as it sounds, I don't want to be a witness to frostbite and see your fingers get cut off." I laugh and put them on, crossing my fingers to add more heat, thanking him as well. Wow, these are great.

"ORDER NUMBER 14!!" the voice says, calling my order.

"I'll get it," Harry offers, moving towards the truck.

He comes back setting the meal in front of me.

"Enjoy" he says bowing, then standing straight up again grinning.

"Are you sure this won't make me sick?" I giggle as I unfold the aluminum.

He laughs and nods back, smiling, and then looks around. "I'm pretty sure, um, I've got to go. I have to go get my car ready."

"Oh I see, umm good luck?" I say looking up to him.

We thank eachother, sharing one last laugh before he walks off in the direction opposite of the fire. I mentally slap myself for being so awkward. One of the only times I get talked to, I screw it up.

I finish eating and I stare down at my plate and look at the monstrosity of a mess that's left. I throw my leftovers into the nearby trash bin and walk back to where Stacy is at.

"Hey! I was just about to text you!" Stacy says as she pulls me away from the others. "Lets go find a spot to watch."

We maneuver through the maze of parked cars and finally get to an empty lot of land aside the mass. In front of us are a couple of cars, lined up, ready to start. Stacy catches the attention of Jake, sitting in his red vehicle. Next to him is a black car. The driver faces the other way until turning and meeting my eyes. Harry.

He smiles in my direction. I smile back and nod before he focuses his eyes on the view in front of him.

The rag in the woman's hand drops, triggering the start of the roaring engines. The cars accelerate into the darkness and the dust covers the view.

•••••

Weeeeeelllll... FIRST CHAPTER WHOOP!

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