Nothing Like Us // Brian O'Conner [1]

five

Brian had arrived at six o'clock on the dot. He had been helping Alex and Mia with preparing for the barbecue before everyone else showed up. Alex heard the sound a engines roaring from a distance. She knew it meant that everyone was here.

Letty, Vince and Leon pulled into the driveway and grabbed the groceries out of their cars. When Vince saw Brian, his blood began to boil. The two stared at each other for a moment. Letting his anger get the best of him, Vince handed Leon the two bags of groceries that were in his hand.

"I'm out of here," Vince said furiously as he turned to walk away. A scowl was spread across his face. Alex sighed. Would this feud between Vince and Brian ever end?

"Come on, dawg!" Leon pleaded, giving his friend a look. He didn't get why Vince was acting the way he was. Leon knew that Vince was protective over Alex, but so was he yet he wasn't being like this.

"Vince!" Dom yelled when he realized what was happening. "Get over here and give us a hand." Vince ignored him and continued walking away. Dom pursed his lips.

"Looks like you've got all the help you need brother!" Vince yelled back, opening his car door and getting inside. He slammed the door closed and sped off. Dom shook his head. Alex and Brian shared a look.

"Sorry about him. He's a bit dramatic if you haven't noticed," Alex said to Brian. He simply shrugged. Brian didn't really care to be honest. He didn't like Vince, but he could suck it up and spend time with him if he had to.

"He'll get over it eventually," Brian replied, looking down at the dark haired girl. When Alex met his gaze she smiled.

"C'mon, you can come help me bring the food out here," Alex told Brian, grabbing his hand and leading him inside the house. They made their way into the kitchen. Alex grabbed the large salad bowl after handing Brian a case of Coronas. Jesse grabbed a bowl of dinner rolls and followed the two outside. They set everything down on the table, then began to put the beers in the cooler that sat near the grill. Dom gave Alex a sideways hug seeing as his other hand was busy flipping burgers and kissed her on the forehead before pulling away.

About fifteen minutes later they were all seated at the table. Jesse looked at the plate of chicken and felt his stomach rumble. He couldn't resist any longer. He reached over and grabbed a piece of chicken. Dom, who noticed this, pointed a finger at Jesse.

"Because you were the first of everybody here to reach in a grab the chicken, you say grace," Dom said. Brian was beginning to learn that Dom has a lot more to him than just being the big bad street racer everyone makes him out to be. He didn't think Dom would be the religious type. Alex did the sign of the cross, then folded her hands and bowed her head. Everyone followed in suit. Brian kept his eyes open, observing the people around him.

"Dear heavenly uh.." Jesse trailed off, unsure of what to say next. Jesse wasn't religious but there was no way he was going to disrespect Dom's house rules. He fiddled with his hands anxiously.