"Excuse me? but are you Katie Hendricks?" Someone says from behind her. She whirls around, her carry-on luggage squeaking on the linoleum floor. A tall lanky African-American boy was standing behind her, a doo rag on his head covering most of his cornrolls, a back-pack slung over his shoulder, his hands fiddling with the strap nervously. She studies him warily before nodding her head, a look of relief floods his handsome boyish features as he stick his hand out in offering. "The Name's Twinkie. I'm you're brother's best friend" He says a goofy smile on his face that was so sweet she couldn't help but laugh as she shook his hand.
" So you're Twinkie? Shawn told me about you, said you were a great friend." She says smiling at him watching a faint blush spread across his face as he looks away, "He also said that you had a sick car?" She says raising an eyebrow. At this he looks her in the eyes and smiles wide, pride swelling behind them.
"Hell Yeah I do, Come on, I'm suppose to pick you up and bring you to him." He says looping his arm with hers making her laugh as they zig zag their way to the luggage cart. The Haneda airport in Tokyo was busy the sounds of the Japanese language surrounding her, bombarding her ears to the point of pain. Twinkie, knowing the area easily maneuvers his way to the cart,dragging her along protecting her from the worse of the pushing and shoving. "What color is your luggage? Same as your carry-on?" He yells over the buzz. She looks at her neon green carry-on and nods to him, unable to speak, her anxiety growing, her panic rising to new heights. Her luggage spins down the baggage claim and Twinkie snatches it up before anyone can take it and run, still holding on to it he shoulders their way out of the crowds and toward the mini restaurants that were in the airport. "Hey you OK?" He asks concern filling his features as he studies her. She could tell by the way her heart was pounding that her face was flushed and her eyes had that wild look in them they always got when she was having a panic attack, she manages a small grimace and nods her head.
"My Anxiety and panic is acting up, where is the girls room?" She says over the roar of people, someone bumps into her and snaps at her in Japanese before rushing off to the gate she had just come from. Her anxiety spikes and she turns pleading eyes at Twinkie, "Get me Out of here PLEASE." She begs. His concern turns protective and he once again links his arm through hers and quickly walks away from the crowds, pointing to a down escalator which they hop onto, almost running down it.
"The Doors to the garage are right ahead, my car's there." he says pointing up ahead, she follows his pointed finger to see the clear glass doors showing cars in a garage, making her quicken her pace. The cold air hits her face in a sudden blast of icy wind. She stops dead as a shiver crawls up her spin. Twinkie laughs and shrugs out of his red puffy jacket, so he can pull off a black sweatshirt off and hands it to her. "Shawn forget to mention that its alot colder here then L/A, Here take this, it wont keep out the cold completely but it will help." He says putting the jacket back on. She flashes him a smile and zips up sweatshirt, the smell of spice and diesel fuel reaching her nose in a pleasent aroma.
"I assume you work with cars by the way this thing smells like diesel." She says following him as he weaves in between cars. He turns his head and flashes her a smile.
"Yeah I'm a mechanic for street cars, Shawn, Neela and I actually live at a Garage, it use to be our friend's he passed away, left the place to Shawn." He says his smile fading for a moment before brightening up again as the two stop in front of a monster of a car. The only way Katie could describe the car was Big, Green and kickass. It had the Hulk snarling on the front and on the sides the doors were dented and in the shape of the hulks foot to look like he had kicked it from the inside, she didn't know what type of SUV it was but it didn't matter. He laughs at her stunned face. "Better reaction then Shawn's I'll give you that, want to drive it?" He asks pulling a steering wheel out of the back-pack and handing it to her, but she just shakes her head, her exhaustion catching up with her. She yawns a great big yawn and stumbles slightly, Twinkie drops the Steering wheel and it clatters to the ground as he reaches out to steady her, "Woah easy easy, here let me help you in, take a nap in the car." He says gently, guiding her to the passenger side, reaching into the front pocket of his jeans he pulls out the keys and hits the auto lock, helping her into the car and shutting the door softly behind her. Katie sinks into the leather seats, her eyes growing heavy as sleep claims her. She was out cold before Twinkie had time to start the car.
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Katie Gasps awake, shooting up with a yelp. She looks around wildly as her surroundings become clear and focus. Where was she? She takes in the small room, sparse furniture, dark blue paint on the walls, a cement floor, It looked like it was one a storage room. She looks at the furniture closely, something about them looked familiar, the wardrobe was a dark wood, same as the small dresser and two end tables, the bed she had been sleeping in had the same wooden frame and dark blue cotton sheets, a orange down comforter was twisted around her legs. She kicks off the comforter and gets up, making her way in the small space to the wardrobe. When she opens it she is hit with the stale scent of moth balls that clung to the clothing that hung limply inside. She steps closer and trails her fingers across the shirts and pants that hung there, lifting one to her face she breaths in and gasps as the scent of old spice and Irish Spring hit her, making her stumble back slightly.
"This use to be A friend of mines room," The odd twang of her brother's voice says from behind her. She closes the door and spins around to see his boyish smile grinning at her. She squeals and runs into her brothers arms hugging him close. "Hey kiddo," He whispers into her hair as he hugs her back. She smiles against his shoulder and breathes in the scent of oil, and grease that clung to his shirt, making her sneeze. He laughs and lets go of her and she notices his oil stained shirt raising her eyebrow. "I was working on my Car, the mustang I told you about." He explains, his twang more noticeable on the word mustang making her grin. Even years later he still had his southern drawl from growing up in Alabama until he was 9, it made him unique in a way that made Katie slightly jealous. She watches as he looks around the room, a sad mournful look crossing his face. "I haven't been in here since he died." He mutters. Katie tenses as something hits her.
"This use to be your friend... Han's room didn't it?" She asks slowly, unease settling deep in her stomach as he nods his head. She masks her discomfort as she walks about the room. So this is what Han's life looked like before he met her, intresting, she thinks going over to the dresser. she opens the top drawer and gasps when Han's face stares up at her, smiling a genuine smile. Gently lifting the picture out she stares at Han, justnow noticing the other person in the picture. It was Isabelle, beautiful and exotic her smile bright and dazzling as she drapes her arms around his neck Love Clearly shining in her eyes as she smiles up at him. "She's..... Beautiful." She stammers staring at Han's face as he too looked at her with profound love, she looks up at Shawn and nods to the picture "Is this Han and his girlfriend?" She asks. He just shrugs.
"Beats me he never talked about her, but I assume so." He walks over to his sister and looks at the picture over her shoulder letting out a sad smile. " But Yeah that's Han, He was a great guy, loyal to a fault, wise beyond his years, Wish you could have met him, you would have loved him." He says Not noticing Katie gripping the picture tighter at his words. She laughs a sad laugh, I love him more then you realize Shawn, she thinks as she nods her head.
"He seemed like a guy I would get along with, But hey," she says trying to change the subject, "Where is that car of yours? I want to see it." she says as she places the Picture back in the drawer, shutting it sharply. Shawn smiles wide and heads out of the room, Katie at his heels.
"I'll warn you, This 'House' isn't what you think it is so beware," He says receiving a confused look making him laugh. "Han had a huge garage that he turned the back rooms into an apartment, his Livingroom and sleeping bunks for Friends who crashed over night are in the Garage, you'll see what I mean." He explains as they reach a large set of metal doors, the sounds of Japanese pop music thumping behind them. " Brace youself, Oh twinkie and Neela will be there so you'll have someone familiar around." He says as he pushes the doors open, As the song is switched to There it Go (The Whistle song) by Juelz Santana blares from unseen speakers. Instantly Katie sees what Shawn meant. They were on the top landing of a massive Garage, but the Landing was turned into a spacious yet cozy livingroom, Oriental rugs piled on top of one another to keep the chill of the cement floor at bay, a large flat screen set up at one end with a large black leather couch at the other, a black wooden coffee table covered with play station games and controllers sat positioned in between them, A girl and guy were sitting on he couch, the women snuggled up against the guy as he zoned out playing a drifting game. On the other side of the landing large white tubes that when Katie looked closer presented themselves as Tube beds stood against the far wall, some had legs sticking out showing partyers from the night before still sleeping off hang overs. Behind the flat screen was an area sectioned off by sectional walls, the opening showing a large desk with three computers on it, a women typing furiously away at one of them. The sounds of a power tool gearing up has her crossing the landing to the red railing that kept people from falling, and looking down. Her breath is squeezed out of her as she stares at all the e different cars, various people working on them or under them, tweeking out kinks, A familiar green SUV and a doo ragged head catches her eye as she watches Twinkie fiddling under the hood, jamming out of the music as he worked. "Pretty impressive huh Katie?" Shawn asks, leaning against the railing smiling at her. She tears her gaze away from the cars and looks at her brother, a smiling on her lips as she nods.
"When Can I drive one?" She asks, in all seriousness making him laugh. The women in the office area stops her typing when she hears his laughter and pushes away from the desk to walk over to them, a smile on her own face. She walks over to Shawn and places a kiss on his lips in greeting before turning to Katie, her hand outstrechedin a friendly mannor.
"I'm Neela, and I can assume correctly you are Katie." She says, her slight accent matching perfectly with her musical voice. "It's nice to finally meet you, Shawn talks highly of you, says you like fast cars to." She raises her eyebrow at her, a fiesty spark in her dark eyes making Katie instantly like her. She takes her hand and quickly shakes it, nodding her head.
" I love fast cars, Dom is well was a street racer, love for fast cars and American muscle cars must have rubbed off on me." She explains. Neela shakes her head at the typical American comment.
"Hey Kate, you ever Drift?" Twinkies voice says as he jogs up the stairs to see them, wiping his hands on a towel. One of the people in the tube beds stirs and climbs out saying something in Japanese to Twinkie who just smiles at her saying something back. He looks back at Katie and then at Shawn. "Show her Mona, Finally finshed her up last night before I picked up Katie, She'll love her." He says as vague as possible. Katie watches as a shadow crosses Shawn's face, a grave dark look as he stares at Twinkie.
"No, NO one Touches that car," He snaps surprising Katie, and by the looks the couple on the couch were giving him, they too were surprised. "Sorry, twink, but you know what that car means, I don't want it ruined. " He says his face smoothing back out to his carefree smile. Twinkie just gives him a small smile and shrugs, heading over to the Women who was still waiting for him in the Tube bunk, climbing in after her making her giggle, pulling a small curtain over the opening. Katie turns away from it wrinkling her nose and looks at Shawn. " Mona is a car that Han built from the ground up, I destroyed it my first time Drifting, it was that car that sparked our friendship." He explains without looking at her.
"He must have meant alot to you huh?" She asks putting a hand on his arm making him blink back tears and nod. Neela wraps her arms around his waist and puts her head on his shoulder looking at Katie.
"He took Shawn in when him and his father were fighting over his drifting, he taught Shawn everything he knows about the drift world, saving his ass on a few occasions." She explains as Shawn's body gets more and more taut with emotions. He shakes off Neela and Katie's arm and stalks off to the doors they had just come out of. Katie tries to go after him but Neela stops her shaking her head. "It's still hard on him Katie, just let him be alone, he's OK." She says gripping her arms tighter and tugging her over to the stairs, "Come on, I don't think he will mind if I take you out to see the City.' She says with a small smirk, mischief edged into her body, she turns to the tube beds and hollers out to Twinkie "TWINK, Want to go to the mountain with me and Katie?" Commotion from the bed Twinkie had disappeared to makes Katie Giggle as he falls out, Neela quietly laughs as he jumps back up, fixing his shirt back into place.
"Why didn't you mention it sooner, I'll get the Skyline," he says excited and scampers down the stairs, practically flying down them.
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Katie Lays in her new bed, surround by Han's smell as she goes over the days events. The mountain it turned out was a secret place where young drifters went to have fun, slidding around the numerous twists and turns that ran up and down its side. It also turned out to be where Shawn had beaten the Previous DK (Drift King) to earn the title and win his revenge against the death of Han. Twinkie knew how to Drift but he was more behind the scenes then anything, enjoying just watching Katie's excitement as Neela Speed and slided down the mountain. Afterwards The three went to McDonald where the two laughed their asses off At the Faces Katie made as she tried to read the menu, failing miserably and trying hard not to ask what her food was made out of, fear it might be something that would make its way back up if she knew. The three drove all around the city, going past the school Katie would be attending on Thursday, past the place that Neela's ex, (The old DK) use to work, and quickly past the place where Han had 'Died', Neela explaining to her that Shawn should be the one to show her that place if he chose to.
Everywhere Katie looked she could see Han, this was after all his turf, his place. She looks around her room as tears fall. Maybe going to Tokyo wasn't the brightest Idea to get of Him. She sighs and throws back her... his covers and gets out of bed, padding to the door and slipping out heading to the small kitchen Shawn had shown her when the three had gotten back. Pushing her way inside she quickly goes to the fridge and grabs one of the purple fizzy drinks she was soon falling for and heads out to the livingroom. She tiptoes into the livingroom, the cement floor chilling her bare feet as she goes over to the railing, leaning against it taking a sip, the fizzy burning down her throat. She looks out over the dark garage and her mind wanders to everything that had happened. It was finally hitting her that she was thousands and thousands of miles away from everything she knew, the sudden desire to call up Melina hits her with a harsh blow, all the air in her lungs hiss out between clenched teeth. She drops the can of soda and watches as it falls to the ground below, exploding in a purple bomb as it hits the ground, she could hear the fizzy explosion from where she stood, Tears leak down her face as a small sob escapes her lips. She grips the railing to keep from falling down as she tries to get herself under control. She will be strong. She will make a life here as she strives to get better. The cold air from the garage doors makes its way to her, curling around her arms and sinking deep into her bones making her shiver. Something being dropped across her shoulders, fear seizes her making her scream come out a breathy squeak.
"SHIT! I didn't meant to scare you I'm so so sorry." Twinkie's voice says as she turns to look at him, his face full of guilt where as hers is bloodless and white as a ghost. She looks at her shoulders and notices his black sweatshirt from earlier. She gives him a weak smile and thanks him making him smile back and shrug. "Don't worry about it, I hear you out here and notices you shivering, Hey you OK?" He asks that protective look coming back as he finally takes in her tear stained face.
"Missing home I guess." She admits instantly feeling like she could trust this carefree wild boy. He leans against the railing next to her and stares out at the cars. "Wheres that girl you were buddy buddy with?" She asks seeing his blush.
"Who Kiko? I don't know probably home sinking daggers into my picture or something, was pretty upset with me when I wouldn't give in to her." He says blushing deeper. Katie snorts
"You didn't sleep with her? why not she seemed very into you." She says in a cruel mocking tone. He looks at her sharply
"Hey I might like partying with the girls, getting a little frisky with them here and there, But I REFUSE to have meaningless sex," He says with such a tone she is taken aback. " I'm waiting for the right women to come along, then I will give her everything." He says looking back out at the cars. She smiles wide at him making him look at her with confusion. "What? why are you smiling at me like that?" He asks wearily. She loops her arm through his and rests her head on his shoulder startling him, he stands there shocked before resting his chin on her head.
"I can tell Twinkie me and you are going to get along just fine." She says smiling. Maybe she could survive here in this strange new world.