* * *
"Jaxon? What are you doing here?" I asked as my eyebrow raised in suspicion. I watched his every movement as he slowly pushed himself through the door before turning around to face me, smiling.
"I'm here to escort you to your race." He said calmly.
I immediately let out a groan as I tilted my head back to look up at the ceiling, "Fucking hell, Isaac."
He let out a chuckle which caused me to lower my head to look at him. You could see that he's just come out of the shower because not only did he smell amazing but his hair was still slightly damp. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I realised how alone we truly were.
He raised his eyebrow slightly at me as he smirked, "You ready to go, Barbie?"
I blinked back twice as I looked around, "Uh-yes. I am. Let's go."
I walked towards the door but stopped to stare at him in confusion because he hadn't moved. He let out a chuckle before pointing to his head, "Your wig."
"What about it?"
"You don't have it on."
I blushed at my own stupidity as I shook my head at myself, "Right. I'll be back."
I ran up the stairs to my room to gather my belongings and place my wig on. Just as I was about to leave I remembered my pain killers, thanking God that I got my refill but stressing out that it was my last refill, any more and I'd need to refer to the doctor again. Placing the pills inside my pocket of my jeans jacket, I grabbed my bag and made my way back downstairs.
"Ok, let's go."
"Got your mask and beanie?" He asked sceptically, as he opened the front door for me.
"Yes." I responded as I checked my bag, before locking the house up.
"Beautiful." He said, opening the passenger door for me to enter. I waited in the quiet space as I watched him effortlessly lift my bike up and place it in his boot space, before strapping it up and securing it in its place.
"Anything you need before we go?" He asked as he got into the drivers seat.
I smiled at him as I shook my head, "No."
"Oh and thanks for doing this, Jaxon." I added.
"Of course. I would never let you do this on your own." He spoke with confidence in his tone.
I looked straight ahead as my eyes took in the environment we drove past. The car was filled with this force that I couldn't quite explain. It constantly had my eyes redirecting to my right, where he was sitting patiently as he drove us to our destination.
"Avery." He spoke calmly.
"Yes?"
"What things do you need to do?" He asked.
I looked at him, confused for a few seconds by his question.
"Remember, you said you couldn't go on a date without doing these things first? What are they?"
My eyes widened in realisation before I bit on my lower lip nervously.
"This doesn't have to do with Noah does it?" He questioned.
I was always so good at lying and letting him hear what he wanted to hear, but it was different this time around. I couldn't force the words out to reassure him, to reassure myself. I was stuck like a deer in headlights. I just looked at him guiltily which was enough for him to get the answer he needed.
He let out a sigh as he looked straight ahead when the light turned green. It was quiet for a minute before he whispered, "Please don't meet up with him. Not alone anyway. Let one of us go with you."
I bit onto my inner cheek as I looked at him and took in his features.
He stopped at a red light before turning to look at me, "Please" He begged.
I swallowed the lump in my throat before nodding and smiling at him. Once again, I managed to lie to him and the guilt was killing me. I had every intention of meeting up with Noah, zero intentions of bringing one of them with me.
* * *
You would think that I would attract less attention because I was "well known" now on the racing scene. But, that wasn't the case. Everyone would stop and stare as I made my way across the park to get ready for my race. I could hear the whispers as I walked past everyone, which only made me paranoid.
I sat next to Jaxon as I watched everyone in their own little crowds keep each other company while the first racers got ready to begin. I rarely spoke at these events because you never knew who was listening and the last thing I want is for my year level to find out what I did in my down time.
My head turned to the right to look at Jaxon who had now just gotten up from sitting next to me, he watched ahead as he took a step forward.
"Ethan, my man. What's up brother?" Jaxon asked as their palms connected before going in for a quick hug. I watched as he did the same with Lucas and another guy, whose name I couldn't remember. Mainly because him and Ethan were twins and I could never seperate them.
'Matt?'
"Ladies, let me introduce you to Barbie. Best female racer in town."
I let out a laugh as I shook my head in denial.
"Barbie. You have already had the pleasure of meeting Lucas. This is Ethan and this is Zach."
'Wow, I was way off.'
"Nice to meet you guys."
"Likewise." They responded simultaneously.
Lucas walked over to Jaxon before wrapping his arm around Jaxon's shoulders, "Jaxon. Buddy. What would Avery think if she knew you were here with this blond bombshell. Huh?"
Jaxon looked into my eyes as he chuckled before shaking his head. He shrugged his shoulder to remove Lucas's hand before looking at him, "She would understand the hustle."
Lucas let out a husky laugh before playfully patting Jaxon's cheek, "Talk dirty to me playboy."
"Shithead." Jaxon responded as he pushed Lucas out of the way.
A crowd cheering loud brought us back to realisation and to the environment we were in.
"Barbie vs Anabelle in fifteen minutes."
Jaxon looked behind him at the sound of the announcement before looking back at me, "Need the ladies room or anything? You're next."
I nodded as I got up from my seat and began walking to the ladies room but stopped when I noticed Jaxon following me. Before I could say anything he raised his arm, pointing in the direction of the restroom, "You are not going alone."
I let out a sigh and kept walking next to Jaxon. He stopped at the door and waited for me as I walked in to go to the bathroom. After doing my business I started to wash my hands thoroughly, in my own world. Not realising that I had someone standing behind me staring at me until they cleared their throat.
My head snapped up and looked at my soon to be opponent who was now smirking at me. Ignoring her I walked over to dry my hands, once they were dry I started to walk past her to leave but she nudged my shoulder making me stumble a little. Without hesitation I was nose to nose with her.
"I used to love ripping my barbies heads off, now I get to do the real thing" she whispered.
I let out a chuckle before staring directly into her eyes, "Bitch. If you think for a second, I'm afraid. You got the wrong girl."
"We'll see about that barbie." She spat back before walking out slamming the door in the process. I let out a sigh before moving my shoulders in a circular motion to rid the negative encounter.
Walking out the bathroom Jaxon looked at me puzzled, "Who the hell was that?"
"My opponent." I responded before lightly chuckling.
"Did she mouth you off?" He asked. He started to clench his jaw as I nodded in agreement to his question.
"I should have been there. I'm sorry." He responded. I stopped walking before pulling onto his forearm, stopping him to look at me.
"Don't do that. That wasn't your fault. You were literally standing outside the doors. You weren't to know she was in there." I spoke with confidence.
Jaxon smiled at me before wrapping an arm around my shoulders, "Lets go make that bitch pay."
* * *
"You ready? You got this. Don't doubt yourself. She has nothing on you. Trust me." Jaxon whispered. I looked over to my opponent before looking back at Jaxon and nodding.
"Yo!"
Jaxon looked across to the guy standing next to Anabelle, "You talking to us?" Jaxon asked in defence.
"Yeah, I am." He snapped back.
"Well? What do you want?" Jaxon spat the words out, annoyance in his tone.
The guy chuckled before looking at his girlfriend who was now smirking at me. We watched as he walked around while speaking to us, until he was standing next to me, "It's simple really. You're girl was talking smack so let's put her money where her mouth is. Unless she wants something else in her mou-"
His words were cut off the moment Jaxon took a step forward in front of me, blocking my view.
"Watch your fucking mouth, mate." Jaxon whispered angrily.
"Now. Now. Let's not escalate this." David said in panic as he jogged up, placing his hands on both of their shoulders, separating them apart.
"You know damn well it was your girl who started this mess." I spat the words out in anger.
"I want triple or nothing." Anabelle spoke up, smirking at me.
I immediately focused on her, responding without hesitation or fear, "You. Are. On."
The realisation hit after I accepted that if I lost, I would immediately lose $6,000. Not letting her see my fear I remained calm as I looked at Jaxon who was now staring at me. I could see his eyes were practically screaming at me to stay confident.
I watched as they grabbed an additional $2,000 from his backpack, I was glad that I had the money prepared. I learnt from Isaac that you always carried extra in case something like this happened. I watched as Jaxon opened my backpack he was holding to grab a hold of the funds to give to David.
After giving David the $2,000 he walked over to whisper to me, "I just had a look at the map and I know it well. Loosen your grip on the accelerator at the third bend otherwise you will lose control."
I nodded my head as I closed my visor and turned on my engine before riding forward to the start line. I let out a shaky breath as I watched the lights count down, raving my engine while waiting for the green light. I hit the accelerator the moment the light turned green, going full speed and not focusing on my opponent.
We were not even a minute into our race when I noticed the first bend show up. I kept the number in my head as I rode down the straight road, waiting for the second bend. After about two minutes of little curves the second bend came up, Anabelle overtaking me at this point. I wiggled lightly in my seat as I prepared myself for the third bend, I needed to overtake her at this bend because the finish line wasn't that far off. We were now riding side by side as the third bend got closer, remembering Jaxon's words I began to slow down to take the bend. I lost my concentration as I saw Anabelle accelerate at the bend but losing control almost instantly. I began to speed up as the bend finished, looking back to see Anabelle stand up before adjusting her bike.
I smiled when I looked straight ahead because all I saw was the finish line and Jaxon and his friends standing there screaming out in cheers. When I passed the finish line, I came to a quick stop and ran up to Jaxon who grabbed me and twirled me around in excitement.
When he let go of me he smiled as David gave him my winnings, I waited patiently as Jaxon quickly counted before placing the money in my backpack, zipping it up and then placing the bag protectively on his back. I took a step forward but fell back when I felt my hair get pulled, causing me to scream out in pain and shock. As I turned around all I saw was a fist about to close in on my face but Jaxon quickly pulled me behind him just as he closed his hand around Anabelle's fist before pushing her away, causing her to stumble onto the floor.
It all happened so fast, one minute I had a fist about to close in on my face and before I knew it; I was standing behind Jaxon who already had half the crowd standing beside him. I looked over to see that Anabelle's boyfriend was now nose to nose with Jaxon who wasn't even fazed by this guys presence.
"Control your girl. If you can't handle the competition stay off the fucking streets!" Jaxon yelled out.
"I saw you hit my girl." He responded which caused a roar in the crowd because they all knew this was a load of shit.
Jaxon took a step forward causing the guy to take a quick step back in fear, "I didn't hit her. But, don't be surprised if you aren't welcomed back here because of this stupid stunt you just pulled."
"You're all bark and no bite Jaxon." He responded but if you looked carefully, you could see the fear in his eyes.
"Wanna make a bet, Chris?" Jaxon spat back with pure confidence.
"We'll settle this on the streets." Chris spoke up as he began to walk away.
Jaxon looked around before smiling and raising his hands in the air, "We're already on the streets, homeboy. I'm ready when you are sweetheart."
Chris turned to look at Jaxon before giving him the bird and walking away with his girlfriend in tow.
"Fucking asshole." Lucas whispered as he pushed my bike towards us. Jaxon and him looked at each other before Jaxon shook his head lightly. I watched Lucas as he began to push my bike away towards Jaxon's car.
Jaxon let out an angry sigh as he turned to face me, "You okay?" He whispered.
I let out a shaky sigh as I nodded in agreement.
He placed his hands around my shoulders as he began to walk with me, "Lets get you home."
* * *
A/N: So, what did we think of the chapter? I personally loved it but I might be biased. How perfect is BTS for this chapter? Or am I the only one who thinks it? Lol
Next Chapter: Looks like Noah's back. What does he want now?