Night Marauders

Chapter Three: Fast Cars and Faster Hearts

The races weren't quiet affairs. They were adrenaline filled things, full of loud cars, half naked girls draped over the racers, loud bass heavy music, and flashy cars that Kiki was pretty sure were just compensation. He didn't hate the races, in all honesty he was pretty indifferent towards them, he only really came because Six was racing and he was being a supportive friend (he really didn't like to think about how being a supportive friend became attending your friend's illegal and very dangerous pastime, but Kiki didn't try to think about it too hard). The rest of his weird little family was there too, B stood to his left, two stitches in his lower lip and his arm around Kiki's waist. Kiki's little brother, Jae, was there too with Ginny, the two of them ogling over some bright orange Maserati, holding hands and being really disgustingly cute. A little off to his right Kiki could see Angel, the upper half of his body hanging over the guardrails as he talked to Six through the open window of the BRZ, a worried look on his face. That didn't sit well with Kiki, mostly because Angel never worried over Six when he raced (or at least he was usually better at hiding it); Angel had a bad feeling about that race, and he didn't bother hiding it. Six said something that made Angel clench his jaw before he pulled away to join the lineup, leaving Angel standing by the guard rail looking angry and more than a little hurt.

"What do you think that was about?" B asked. Kiki shrugged, "Dunno. Don't really wanna find out."

He was gonna find out anyway because Angel was stalking over to him, arms folded across his chest, eyes dark, his apparent frustration making him seem a little bigger than his five foot seven frame.

"He's such an ass, sometimes I have no idea why I'm with him." he said, having to yell a little to be heard over the music. Kiki knew that Angel didn't mean it. Sure, his relationship with Six could get a little turbulent at times, and the two of them have both said shit they regret, but there was no way that something this small (whatever it may be) was gonna split them up, so Kiki just shrugged.

"Six has always been an ass, it's not your fault." B replied. That much was true, Six was short with people by nature, all clipped tones and sarcastic humor, Kik had learned that much right off the bat. Angel just rolled his eyes and turned back to the road, leaning onto the guardrail with a scowl on his face as he waited for the race to start. All the drivers were in position, engines rumbling, but most of their windows were rolled up now, and the air of the parking garage had gotten thick with anticipation, because it was two minutes to the start time.

"Do you think he'll win?" Ginny asked, her and Jae now within earshot of the rest of the group. Jae just shrugged, "I dunno. Probably though, it's Six we're talking about."

Kiki caught the little smirk on Angel's face as he listened in on the conversation. A woman holding a black and white checkered flag strode between the two rows of racing cars, raised the flag, the drivers revved their engines, she drew the flag down, and the cars sped off, the woman's hair blowing back from her face as they took off. Angel's hands gripped tight on the guard rail as he watched the jet black BRZ take off and disappear.

~~~~

There was something about the way a car's engine screamed through the empty parking garage, that gave Angel chills in the very best way. He couldn't put his finger on it, and he was afraid that if he tried it would take all the magic away. But that night, the sound of that BRZ did nothing but double the worry that was rooting in his chest. He wasn't deaf, and he wasn't an idiot either; he'd heard Six and Ji-Yong talking about that hairpin turn, and he'd heard the fear in Six's voice. He'd been on the landing between the first and second set of stairs when he'd heard them, and it was then that the worry started to gnaw at him. Ji-Yong had said it best: it wasn't that he didn't trust Six, it was that he didn't trust that turn, or those other idiots in the race for that matter. Angel squeezed at the guard rail; the race was three laps, each lap ending in the same place the whole race started: at the mouth of the parking garage. That was three times that Six had to make it through that hairpin turn; Angel felt a little sick and he wasn't sure if it was his nerves or the fact that he was leaning a little over the guardrail and the metal was starting to press into his stomach. He looked to Kiki, who was looking at him with an eyebrow raised.