meeting new people was something ariana was used to. specially in the world she lived in, it was good to have connections. some of them went further than that. some she got really close with. regardless of her friend making abilities, she never imagined she'd be in the mountains teaching sean how to drift.
her hair in a low messy bun. blue crop top that matched her blue jean perfectly, her blue converse with the lace tied around her ankles. she stood beside the car, watching sean take the view of the place. the weather was cool, it wasn't ariana's favorite. she enjoyed the heat of california, making her skin tanner and her hair lighter.
regardless, she loved the mountains.
-"there's no wax on or wax off with drifitng. learn by doing it. the first drifters invented drifting out her in the mountains by feeling it. so, feel it." han said patting sean's back. he walked back to his seat, waiting for ariana. sean looked back at her, waiting for some sort of advice. she shrugged. teaching wasn't her thing.
-"all you have to do is depress the clutch, shift down quickly and release. feel the car, listen to it. and most importantly, don't wreck the car. okay?" ariana patted his back as well, grinning at him. she sat next to han, a beer in the cup holder of the chair.
two hours had passed by. ariana went from sitting, to stand up, to braiding han's hair. all while sean was still attempting to complete the course swiftly. ariana was to intervene if sean needed some pointers. he was improving, slowly but surely.
she watched han stand up from his seat, he thought the lesson should be over for the day. sean; not so gracefully, drifting the car to the starting point. not before driving through the dirt, causing it to go flying in the air.
-"come on, we're done for the day." han motioned sean to get off the car, picking up his chair.
-"let me do one more, i got it this time." sean said without budging.
-"sean, you're wearing out the tires. you'll need new ones soon. tires aren't cheap, man. think quality not quantity next time you're here." ariana said, leaning on the car window.
-"teach me? one last lap, i promise?" sean pulled the best puppy eyes he could, ariana reluctantly gave in. looking back at han for approval. he looked at the girl, his eyes scanning her face.
-"one last lap." han said, walking over to the car. sean didn't bother to get out of the car. simply jumping to the passenger seat. ariana opened the door, putting on the seatbelt before closing it. han smiled at ariana. he looked at sean, with the same smile on his face.
-"take it easy on him." han said. sean wondered what he meant. they were going to drive through the same course he already had, what could surprise him?
-"i'd buckle up if i were you." han said to sean before retiring, ariana watched sean buckle up before starting the car. letting the car purr before she took off.
sean held on for dear life to grab handle, watching her gracefully drift through every corner. the way her hand managed the stick perfectly. there were no mistakes in the way ariana drove.
ariana sped up, a horrified look on sean's face. he looked back and forth between the road and the focused girl. watching how the gap from the car and the tight turn was closing, and ariana wasn't slowing down.
-"ari, ariana. what are you doing?" sean practically screamed out in fear before ariana tightly but swiftly drifted. he could hear the clutch sound clearly; he watched her hand control the steering wheel. ariana almost made it back three times faster than sean had. stopping the car right in front of a waiting han. a grin on his face. sean put a hand to his chest, feeling his heart go faster.
-"that was the best drive i've ever been on. who taught you how to drive?" sean asked adrenaline soaring through his body.
-"some friends in california taught me a long time ago. i perfected here." ariana said, fixing her hair before steeping out of the car. standing in front of han.
-"you ain't got nothing on me." ariana playfully said, causing him to pinch her sides in annoyance. rolling his eyes while bringing his arm around her shoulder.
it became a routine. sean and ariana would go to school, work on cars right after. sean and han drifted while ariana worked on her car. she would join them halfway into the lesson. eager to see sean's improvement. and eager to see han's teaching. the way he was so proud it irradiated from him. the time went by how it normally does in tokyo, parties, cars and endless poker games. sean managed to become a somewhat normal part of the daily life, especially for ariana and han. his relationship remained the same with takashi, the tension remained the same. it wasn't going away anytime soon.
...
it was late at night. sean and ariana intended to go back to their houses, they had school in the morning after all. but somehow laughter keeps erupting and the conversation wasn't ending. they sat on couches in han's office. sean and han sitting next to each other, ariana sitting in front of them. they all had the previous mentioned mac and cheese. a cheesy grin on their faces as they shared stories.
-"and that is why, she shouldn't go near a car. ever again." han told sean, patting his shoulder. ariana gasped, putting a hand to her chest.
-"it was one-time han. one time. i was distracted, okay?" ariana said laughing, trying to hold her food so it wouldn't fall. sean laughed at her.
-"you almost went over a cliff because you answered takashi's call." sean repeated han's story while laughing in disbelieve. ariana's and han's laughter got louder. the small amount of alcohol soaring through their veins.
-"i'm not a good multitasker." ariana defended herself, trying to calm herself down from the laughter. han took another beer out of the cooler, before he realized it was warm. the ice had melted.
-"i'm going to get another beer. sean, you want one?" han asked getting up from his seat. he looked at the watch on his wrist. 11:46 it read. he shook his hand before standing up as well.
-"i have to go home. my pops will go crazy. i'll see you tomorrow." han said bye to sean, walking towards the bar. sean side hugged ariana before getting twinkee to drive him home. ariana looked around the room. she then remembered how she left her ring in his desk a few days ago.
she got up from his, tossing the empty can in the trash. she walked over to his desk. the ring wasn't on the surface of it. 'he must have placed it in a drawer, it wouldn't get lost that way' she thought. it wouldn't be the first time. ariana opened the first drawer. a few papers, some pencils and a beer can opener. she opened the next one, no sign of her ring. a surprising number of files, covering the entirety of it.
curiosity got the best of her, as she was tempted to open them. she kneeled in front it. she shouldn't, they weren't hers, but what could han possibly have files of? she handled most of the cars and the sales. han barely did anything in terms of paperwork.
she looked at the door, there was no sign of han. she reluctantly grabbed the first one, opening it. her eyes widen with her discovery. at the top was plastered a picture of a man, it looked like a mugshot. details listed below; where abouts, credit card numbers, felonies. ariana chuckled in confusion, closing the file before picking another random one. the same thing with a different person. she quickly started to look through a few of them, confirming they all had the same information about different people. why would han have that? why would he need to know all of that?
ariana snapped out of her thoughts hearing a faint sound of a door opening and closing. she placed all the files inside the drawer before shutting it close quietly. she ran to the couch, practically throwing herself on it before han could see her.
-"i brought you beer." han said. holding a six pack on his hands. he set it down on the floor in front of the couch. sitting next to her. ariana stared at him, trying to analyze him. what was he hiding? she looked far more scared than she intended to. han's face dropped in concern, confused. he turned his body to face her.
-"are you alright?" han asked, setting his beer on the ground. ariana contemplated between asking or not. her gaze fell as thousands of thoughts ran through her mind.
her eyes found their way back to his. she opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of loud motorcycles. ariana looked at han, he looked just as confused as her. they simultaneously got up, walking out the door. revealing takashi, looking through his eyebrows.
-"ariana, we have to talk." takashi said, ariana looked at han before going down the stairs. han following.