Cars: Before The King (Strip Weathers x OC)

Chapter 4

"No, absolutely not. I forbid it," Patrick growled, glaring at his son. He had never been this frustrated with his son before, he'd usually let certain things slide but this time he'd gone too far.

"But Pa-"

"My answers no, Strip!" His father shouted, frightening Sandra and Ophelia.

Steve took a look at his own daughter, shaking his head, "So, this is what you've been doing in your spare time? You haven't just been lying to me, but you've also been lying to Sandra and Patrick? This isn't how I raised you, Ophelia. I didn't raise you to be a liar! What would your mother say if she was-"

"It was my idea, sir," Strip spoke up, stepping in for his friend. Ever since Ophelia's mother died 8 years ago, her father had never been the same. He didn't hurt her or anything, but his temper had gotten worse. He just wasn't the same.

"Your idea? So let me get this straight, you were the one who dragged my daughter into this whole racing thing? You know I've always liked you Strip, but this time you've a bit too far. Why would you drag her into this?"

Ophelia had enough of this fighting, she decided to take a stand. Not for herself, but for Strip. "Dad! Stop! He didn't drag me into anything! I went along with it willingly, if anyone here has the potential of becoming a race car, it's Strip! If you all saw how he was racing, how happy he is...you'd understand how much it means to him. You'd let him pursue his dream."

Patrick scoffed, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was with Steve on this one, the two of them had gone too far this time, "And exactly how long have you two been doing this behind our backs for?"

"Honey, don't you think you two are being a bit hard on the both of-"

"No, I'm not Sandra! Stay out of this...please," he cleared his throat, glaring towards both teens. "How long has this been going on for?"

Ophelia looked to Strip, there was no way they would changed their parents minds. Their minds were already made up, if dreams had to be crushed then tonight was the night for it. "6 years, Mr Weathers."

It was obvious that the dinner between the two families was over, only because Strip wanted to express his dreams for the future.

"This is unbelievable...I can't believe the two of you have been doing this behind our backs! Not just for a week or even a month! 6 whole years! Why? Why would you keep something like this from us?" Patrick exclaimed, anger in his tone.

Strip tried holding back his own anger, but just couldn't. "Because we knew this is how you guys would react! All my life, you've told me racing was nothing but a waste of breath! You always disapproved of my dreams! All I wanted was one thing from you and Ma...the only thing I wanted was your support for this dream, but all you ever did was put me down!"

Patrick frowned, he didn't believe in what his son was saying. Even if he was telling the truth, he didn't believe he was. "Go to your room Strip."

"You can't tell me what to do, I'm 16-"

"Get to your room now Strip!" The older Plymouth Superbird snapped, he was done with this conversation once and for all.

Strip frowned, reversing and driving out of the room. The only one thing he wanted from his parents, he'd never gotten from them. He felt like he wouldn't be able to achieve anything, he felt useless. Like his entire life was planned out for him, by his parent.

Ophelia went to follow her friend but was stopped by her father, his light green eyes locking with hers. "I suppose we'll be heading off, sorry for this mess Patrick. I'll be sure to give this girl a good talking to when we get back home."

Patrick let out a sigh, driving out with his friend. Ophelia was right behind them, looking down as she drove. She couldn't help but feel horrible with what had happened at dinner, she could've stopped Strip from saying anything but chose not to. Even if she did try to get him to stop, no way would he of listened to her anything. Once he had something on his mind he wanted to say, he would say it.

Steve said his goodbyes to Patrick, letting out a loud sigh as he left the Weather's house. "Come on Ophelia, now."

He didn't even bother to look back to see if his daughter was following, to be honest he didn't really care. She was too much like her mother, determined and head strong. While she didn't seem like that half the time, she really was.

Once they'd gotten back home, Ophelia drove straight to her room. Shutting the door, she made her way towards the phone in her room. She dialed a number into it before pressing the call button.

"Hello?"

Ophelia let out a sigh of relief, he was okay. "Hey Strip, how're doing? After everything that...happened tonight?"

"Lia...I'm gonna be honest here, I've been thinking a lot. I know I should do what my parents say but...I don't want to give up on this dream, I want to keep pushing." The tone in his voice sounded so confident.

Ophelia knew that he was serious about continuing this, even if it meant the worse happening. "There holding a race in Houston in a couple of days, it's a five hour drive. We've never driven that far before, but I figured why not? If we leave early tomorrow morning, we could find a place to stay the night, then enter the race."

Strip smiled, loving the idea of that plan. "I'll meet you in our usual meeting spot at 5am sharp, don't be late."

Ophelia giggled, his goofy charm was one of the reasons she'd fallen for him. Yeah, she had grown up with him and all. But her feelings for him hadn't blossomed for him, she always saw him as a brother figure. But now she was starting to see his true colours.