RUSH ― han lue

ORANGE COUNTY

The plans have changed and only the boys went out to have fun. The two of us are left to entertain amongst ourselves and it was a good thing that Dom left his car and took a beat up van the twins were able to acquire (probably stole). I was able to drive around the empty place and treat it like a maze. It was large enough to actually make as a track but I still took careful sharp turns as to not have the old muscle get scuffed and have its owner chase me to death.

I cruised peacefully, deep in thought even though I shouldn't even be thinking of it, before deciding to leave Dom enough gas to not realize I was playing with his toy. I dropped myself off in front of our base where Mia was just finishing the setup on the ledge. She had a lot of devices that I couldn't even begin to name, slowly circling around to make sure I could at least understand how all of it works in case. "You don't show yourself for years, and you don't even tell me what's going on with you and Han." I choked, watching Mia look at me as if she suddenly knew what I didn't. Was it really that obvious?

I'm starting to finally believe that coming here was a big mistake that I can't take back anymore. I haven't been here in a full day and yet I've already come across trying situations. I don't know how much of this I'd still be able to take, but if I'm making a lucky guess—probably not much.

"What are you talking about?" I get that he might've heard it from Dom and Brian, being that we all spent a lot of time in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, but I was trying my best to steer clear from that on my duration here—because it's a conversation I'll never be able to make it out of without stuttering my entire ass off.

"Look at you," She muttered. "Like a deer caught in the headlights." I looked away. "I've known you and Han for the better part of my life, Vi. And besides, the way he was looking at you I would've thought you had something worse than a one night stand." Truly way worse. But I knew what Mia meant, she's been friends with the both of us for so long not to know each other enough. "At least tell me how you guys met, that's one thing we couldn't get out of Dom no matter how I scammed it out of him."

"Yeah, well..."

Han and I met because I lost my cool and decided to go to a party.

I told myself that night, one drink, one race, and just one hour because Dom was getting on my nerves from his stupid suicide mission and I'm this close to just going AWOL on him and hop the next flight to LA. But I couldn't do that because I'm guaranteed dead the minute I stepped out of the chaotic comfort of Mexico. When I got there, I knew most of the people that we hang out with and parked near the racing line where I found Han, and where he's eyeing me from head to toe across the street. I was used to the questioning stares the minute I stepped foot at this place, but not the likes of him whom I've never really seen before in my life and who didn't stop looking even after I glared at him back.

I was pissed off, the race was taking so freakishly long, so, I strolled in front of him with my hands in a fist, and smack him right in the jaw. My hand ached badly while I watch him fall down the ground with a thud, and I thought I'd gone crazy when he looked at me and laughed. "I deserve that."

I remember just feeling bad all of a sudden, because for what it's worth, even if he was a dumbass for staring at me like that, I did find him cute.

"You do." I said, offering the hand that didn't hurt, for some reason. "You also don't act stupid around here 'cause you'll get worse than what you just got." Red was beginning to form around his cheek and I was verging on apologetic for what I've done even if he deserves it. "Why are you even looking like that?"

"I'm honestly not sure." He said, cupping his swollen cheek, "I thought I've seen you before and was trying to remember. Next thing I know, you punched my lights off." I didn't exactly believed him but I still felt bad, so I asked him to accompany me for dinner because I've probably completely lost my shit and went out with the man staring at me like he'd seen a giraffe in the middle of Mexico.

Things only ever escalated when we were hanging out after the job and he looked at me like I'm sunshine and daisies even though my face was battered from being thrown out of the car. I jumped on the next chance and kissed him, and from there, we built a life in a place offered as a thank-you gift by Dom's friend. It was old, rickety, and had some problems that need a lot of money to fix. But we made do, we fixed it ourselves, and slept right next to each other like there's only going to be that life for as long as we want.

The life that brought us together was the same life that held us with a piece of string. We lived as if we made a family, we made it through bullet casings and blood on our hands. But it was the life that I wanted with him, it was the life I didn't see myself leaving anytime soon. We had plans to leave, we made plans to make sure we don't keep sleeping with one eye open, and bigger plans for our future.

But one day, out of the blue, he just fucking left.

"I won't be able to sum it up in one day but that's the gist. I don't know where he went from there but we met again in the Dominican Republic, and then—I left." Mia pursed her lips, probably to ask why, but I sighed. "And I'm not—ready to admit that fuck up just yet." She rounded her arms around mine and nodded.

"I'm here when you need me."

Cars revving echoed not from afar and slowly, the boys have begun pouring back in to wait for the next step of our plan. After pulling a funny stunt like burning a rich man's money, we'll watch and wait until they start packing up and moving it in one convenient basket where we could begin and pick it up. Per usual, we don't expect it to be so easy, not when you set his money in flames, he'll probably lose his shit and have a battalion watching over it without blinking. We'll be ready when that happens, not doubting the arsenal lying peacefully on a couple of locked cases hidden in the other room.

"You guys got in any trouble that we'll have to fix?" Mia asked while leaning on a bar, watching them leave the cars one by one with balaclavas still in their faces.

"We do it clean and fun out there, ya'll got nothin' to worry about." Tej said, grinning widely.

"Where's the trust?" It was Han, and it was... in a way, refreshing to see him smiling, even if it's not towards me. Though just as I was relishing watching him like that from afar, his eyes glanced over to me and I finally saw the flash of anger that made me feel like the biggest asshole in the world. He stood there, leaning beside a beaten grey muscle, and it felt like forever since anyone spoke again.

"We'll be getting something nice for dinner tonight. Get something to waft through this place instead of rust." Brian muttered when he climb up our peaceful box and held Mia, my chest squeezed happily at the sight, knowing just how much I've waited for the two of them to finally get together after years of pining and dealing with the law.

"That's the nicest thing anyone said today." I commented, looking away from such a happy sight and seeing Tej come up from my side and handing me a much needed cold beer.

"How're you holdin' up?" He asked, suddenly making me frown. "I may not have Suki's sneaky way of knowing things—but I know that face." I laugh, hearing the twins gather behind us where they greeted me before coming back to Tej's knowing look—and the way he bobbed his head down, towards the man that plague my worst nightmares munching on something as always.

I only gave Tej a smile, reminiscing made me a little sad but this isn't the time and place to show that. "I'm okay, and this will be over pretty soon." I raised my beer and downed it, only ever realizing right then, he was looking at me that night because we've already met before.

Before Dom, before everyone else, Han and I briefly saw each other back in Orange County, and I remembered I found him cute that time too.