A/N: Tyson from my Here We go Again is making an appearance here. If you want to know more about him, head over to my blog for a character interview with him. The links to the interview and Here We Go Again will be in the comments.
*****
Raiden's POV
"You don't have to come," Val insisted when she saw me unbuckle my belt and she closed the car door, leaning through the window; she had lowered the glass to enjoy the breeze. "I'll be in for ten minutes tops."
"I want to make sure you don't buy something dangerous," I said and she waved me off with a snort.
It really annoyed me when she did that. It always made me want to grab her by the shoulders, shake her and tell her 'Take me seriously, woman!', but knowing Val, she'd probably laugh at my reaction, sass me and end her sentence with 'Ray-Ray' - an address I sometimes enjoyed as Vallery had been the one to come up with it and sometimes it made me growl as she usually used it when she teased me.
"What can be sooo dangerous in the groceries store?" She asked, bobbing her pretty head - messy bun and all - at the sound of the music.
"You can get creative," I complimented her despite of myself. Sadly, her creativity was what usually got her in trouble. Why couldn't she pick up some form of art, drawing perhaps?
And no, 'drawing' like that time we spray-painted a giant-headed, cross-eyed Liam on the side of an abandoned building did not count, although the resemblance with the real thing had been striking when you kept in mind the portrait was done by kinds... Or so we thought at the time.
"Look, Ray-Ray," she started in a very business tone, "I know what I want to get, I know where to get it from, it doesn't have to do with your rude, idiot brother and there's no telling what these two would do in your car if we left them alone in the back seat."
"Vallery!" Her brother raised his voice and straightened, red-faced, but Hunter pulled him back into his arms.
"Hey, it's what I've been thinking about," the older boy murmured in his boyfriend's ear loud enough for all to hear.
The color in Nat's cheeks only intensified and he looked at his shoes.
"See? You should either stay here to babysit them or drive this baby," she ran her hand over the upholstery of the vehicle, "to the car wash."
And with that, Vallery Reed went about her dubious business.
*****
Vallery's POV
"Don't even think about it," I warned when Raiden eyed the bright pink purse I left on his back seat.
"Then tell me what is in the purse," he replied, unfazed.
"Were you seriously planning to go through my purse? 'Cause friends or not, if anyone goes through my purse without my permission, they are going to be in serious trouble." I slammed the door of the car.
"Trouble is what I'm trying to prevent." He didn't close his door any more gently. "You refuse to tell us what you bought so yeah, we are a little suspicious. Am I right, guys?"
We looked around only to realize by brother and his boyfriend were already at the garage entrance, waiting for us.
"Don't wanna be late for your shift, do you, Ray-Ray?" I asked as I headed their way.
"Don't try to change the subject, Vallery." His voice came from behind me and I clenched my fists.
A little trust would be great right now!
After all, the reason I didn't want to tell them what I'd bought was because I was planning a surprise for them. A nice surprise.
My nose wriggled at the strong scent of oil even before we stepped in the garage; no wonder Raiden always took long showers after being here!
The place was a bit bigger than what I thought it would be when Raiden was describing it. There were two large dusty metal tables, covered with all sizes of wrenches, bolts, nuts and screwdrivers and more of those were lying on the floor along with car parts I didn't know the name of; the three cars that were here easily fit inside the garage, one of them being worked on by a young and very well-built boy with short black hair.
"The view's not bad," I murmured as he leaned forward to fix something, half of his body under the car hood, his butt still visible to us.
"His long-term girlfriend would probably say the same." Raiden said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hey, we are just looking." Hunter shrugged, then noticed Nat's expression. "And looking is all I'd do as I'm perfectly happy with my boyfriend."
He kissed the top of my brother's nose and Nat's frown turned into a smile.
"You better or my sister will kick your ass."
Hunter pulled back - surprise by the playful retort flashed in his grey eyes - before he giggled.
"I imagine she would try."
"Hey, what do you mean 'try'? I would totally..."
My sentence was cut off by the screeching of a door - not the one we walked in through; perhaps there was some sort of an office in this building - and a skinny man in his forties - a hair cut so short it was practically non-existent - approached us.
"Hunter Harris?"
My friend nodded.
"Jimmy, the owner of this place," he extended an ink-covered hand in greeting and Hunt shook it; the swirls in his colorful tattoos were masterfully done.
"So," he pulled back his arm, "what did Raiden tell you?"
"Just that one of your workers is leaving and that you'll need someone to substitute him with full-time," Hunter replied. "And that I won't be able to start for a few weeks."
The man nodded.
"Did he tell you about my rules?"
I found myself shaking my head along with my friend.
"Working hours are flexible, but if you develop the habit of being late or calling in late that you won't be coming, I'll kick you out," Jimmy began enlisting. "If you are rude to the costumers when they don't deserve it, I'll kick you out; if you start a fight over nothing with your coworkers, I'll kick you out; if you steal from me..."
"Let me guess," Hunter smirked, tilting his head to the side, "you'll kick me out."
"I'll beat you up and then kick you out," Jimmy corrected.
"That's it?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Also, I'm giving you a test run on..." The man looked around his property until his eyes found a sleazy red car. "That one. Fix it and we'll talk about pay."
"Okay."
Hunter turned around and walked toward the vehicle, Nat following him.
"You think you'll be able to finish that blue antique today?" Jimmy asked Raiden.
"Sure. I'm almost done with it," my childhood friend answered and his boss gave us a nod before heading over to supervise Hunt's work.
"Will you keep me company or watch Hunter?" Ray asked me.
"You. Hunt's already got an audience; wouldn't want you to be lonely." I winked at him and we moved towards the only blue car in the garage; it was old with peeling paint and was parked right next to the black one his hot coworker was dealing with.
"Tyson Williams, Vallery Reed; Vallery Reed, Tyson Williams," Raiden briefly introduces us, opening the door to the driver's seat and pushing a button; we heard a loud click and the blue hood jumped an inch up.
"So this is the female twin?" Tyson straightened and looked first at me, then at where my brother was. "They aren't much alike," he concluded after a brief observation.
"In appearance and behavior," I assured him, my eyes glued to his differently colored ones before my gaze slid slightly downwards to a nose which seemed to had been broken at some point in this guy's life; even though it had not grown straight, the boy was still one Hell of a catch, at least if you judged by his appearance - gorgeous face and firm abs under the once-must-have-been-white tight tank top.
Good taste of music too, I added in my mind when his phone rang.
"'Sup, Angel?"
There was a long reply.
"Because she's a two-faced b..."
A shorter reply interrupted him.
"Just because I'm living with her, it doesn't mean I can't call her..."
The shortest reply so far.
"Alex and I are always arguing. Of course we are still on for dinner tonight. Bring some beer when you come over, okay?"
It must've been a yes or no answer as he hung up right after his question.
"What did Alexandra do this time?" Raiden took one of the wrenches from a near-by table.
"She told me I need to be more patient with people and not an hour after that, she punched a guy because he was bugging her. Now tell me, don't I have the right to call her a two-faced bitch?"
"Don't know about that, but it sounds like I'll like this girl." I grinned, but my smile melted away immediately when the boys exchanged a look. "What?"
Tyson turned his back to me and went back to fixing the black car.
"What?" I repeated.
"Nothing," Raiden murmured. "It's just that I've told Ty about you and we both agree that you and Alex will hit it off."
"So? What's the problem?"
"We also agree that that would spell disaster for everyone around you," the other boy replied. "And since Raiden and I are around you, that means us."
"Both of you are kind of..." My neighbor searched for the right word.
"Irresponsible," Tyson supplied for him.
"I was going to say nutty, but that too." The other boy agreed. "Both of you have been in trouble with the law, both of you like to party, both of you are in the habit of punching people and are good at it..."
"Now I really want to meet her!" I cut him off.
"And we probably can't prevent you from doing that, but we are going to postpone it for as long as we can." Ray switched the wrench for a smaller one.
"But why?"
"Because otherwise we'll have to pay bail every time you two go out." Tyson was the one to answer.
"You are just making this girl sound more and more interesting, you know that, right?" I raised an eyebrow - pointless as both kept their eyes on their work.
"Val, can you just try to think of something else?" Raiden pleaded.
"Sure. I can think of tonight's party, how your brother didn't invite me to it and what I have in my purse."
Ray-Ray jolted up, smacking his head on the hood.
*****
A/N: Yep, Tyson got a haircut.
Okay, so I originally planned to start the party in this chapter, but it was turning out too long so I'm leaving it for the next one.
What do you think of this one?
What surprise could Val be preparing for the boys and will it really turn out to be a nice one?
Do you suspect she bought something for Liam too?
Any thoughts on Ty and Alex? Or on Jimmy and his rules?
Please support this chapter with a VOTE if you enjoyed it!