Chapter Text
Car meet today. Do you want to be picked up?
It was the text that made Valencia grin with excitement. Oh, she can’t wait to drool over the cars that belonged to the street racers. She quickly typed yes and sent it to Hong Joong and waited for him to reply. Hong Joong quickly replied with a thumbs up.
She opened her closet and removed a pair of graphic t-shirts and dress pants. She knows she has to convince her parents to let her go out at this time, but that’s the last thing she is worried about. What she is worried about is about the street racers. It’s uncommon in Melbourne for a girl to be so obsessed with cars that she bounces off the walls on the mention of mere car meets.
She quickly stripped out of her skirt and sweater top and slipped into the dress pants and the graphic t-shirt. She tucked the part on the infront and tucked neatly into the pants. Her dress pants had brown and black vertical lines on it. She opened her drawer removing her secret stash of jewellery.
She removed her silver rings and a silver choker to go with the silver chain with a pendant. The pendent had a compass engraved on it. If you are lost, look at it and it will help you choose the right direction. The words echoed in her brain, realising the fact that in fact this pendant was everything she needed in the moment. A small smile replaced the little frown on her lips.
She quickly put on her rings on her fingers, and delicately placed the choker on her neck and snapped it on her neck. She placed her remaining jewellery back inside where she picked it from. She removed her makeup, and decided to go for a smokey eyes makeup look.
Her parents thankfully never berated her for her fashion style if she keeps it professional for a party or an event. She opened her black eye shadow palette fully self customised by removing all the black shade and placing it in one palette. She grabbed her required brush and stood in front of the mirror in the room and started to apply her makeup.
Once she was done with her make up, she stashed everything back to where she removed it. Valencia then grabbed her leather jacket from the coat rack beside her door and wore it. Her household has the same rules as an Asian household, no shoes in the household. So she grabbed her shoes from her shoe rack and walked out of her room after switching off the light and closed the door behind her.
Oskar and Stefanie Everhart were home at that night which was a surprising turn of events for Valencia, as they usually spent their saturday nights out at snobby rich restaurants with their snobby rich friends. But it no way bothered Valencia much because she kept to herself most of the day closed in her room and the majority of the evening sitting with them bored out of her mind as they drooled on about her future at Oxford University.
She bounded down the stairs, knowing the boys were waiting for her. She knew her parents would stop her in the middle as she had to walk through the living room to get to the door. Their eyebrows rose as they saw their daughter bounding towards the door.
“Where are you going this late?” Her father asked, making Valencia stop in her tracks. “Movies and dinner with the boys.” She answered, nervously playing with her shoes. “And what’s with the clothes? I didn’t know you were feeling rebellious.” Her mother interjected, her eyes moving from her messy short hair to her black socks on her feet.
“Graphic t-shirts and dress pants are not rebellious, mom.” Valencia groaned, throwing her head back lightly. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Then explain the jacket and the choker.” Her dad said, for the first time amused.
“This jacket will keep me protected from the cold outside. And I have this choker from last year, dad. I even wore it to your promotion party.” Valencia gave them a weird look. “Ah yes, remember we got that for her as her birthday present?” Stefanie seemed to remember, but Valencia wasn’t impressed.
“I can't be with you guys. I need a single day where we are not at each other’s throats and clothing style.” Valencia muttered, putting on her shoes. “I will see you tomorrow.” Valencia said, not looking back.
“Why tomorrow?” Oskar asked, sitting a little straighter. “I am staying at Seonghwa’s. We are finishing our project on HIV tomorrow.” Valencia answered, tying her shoe laces. “But I want you home tomorrow. We are having guests over, and I need you here.” Oskar asserted, his single eyebrow shooting towards his receding hairline.
“Why do you need me? I am not an adult to have a drink with you and I have nothing to offer in your conversations.” Valencia said, standing up once she was pleased with her laces. “It’s Jessica Bangh and Jack Bangh. The people you are obsessed with.” Stefanie answered, her lips pulling into a knowing smile.
“No way. Wow.” Valencia’s jaw was on the floor as soon as those words left from her mother’s mouth. She always dreamed of meeting the Banhg family, but never thought it would come true anytime soon. Her eyes were blown wide, hardly blinking. “And they have a son too. Maybe you two can get along. He is your same age.” Stefanie added, making the girl realise they were talking about Chan.
“I will be back by afternoon. I know for a fact you have been invited for dinner. So don’t worry. And yes, I have met the Bang Chan.” Valencia offered a smile before waving at them and exited the house before either of them could stop her.
There was a deep red colour Ferrari 488 Pista standing in their driveway, waiting for the girl. “Haish, Hwa. You are flexing hard buddy.” Valencia whistled, stopping in front of the passenger seat and leaned down the window. “Gotta flaunt daddy’s money, Hun.” Seonghwa sent a wink to the girl. She giggled at the antics of the older boy in the car. She opened the door of the passenger seat and got into the beautiful car.
She closed her eyes, feeling the vibrations of the car. Oh it was heaven. “Hwa, this is pure heaven.” Valencia mumbled, closing the door of the car. “Oh my baby is gonna do more than show you heaven. Seatbelt on, honey.” He said, a smirk evident in his voice.
Valencia complied, attaching the seat belt to its place and waited for the boy to run the car like it was meant to be. “Who are you impressing tonight?” Seonghwa inquired, pulling the car out of Everhart's driveway. Valencia furrowed her brows, turning her head to look at the boy in the driver’s seat.
“Don’t look at me like that. I saw you the way you look at a certain boy, aka Bang Chan for the moment right now, you couldn’t stop drooling.” Seonghwa snorted, placing his front foot lightly on the gas pedal. It required the least amount of pressure to pull the car forward at the speed of light. Valencia’s face flushed, leading her to scoff at her childhood friend.
“What in the fuck are you high on, Park? Is he an illegal racer too?” Valencia snapped lightly, not meeting the boy’s eyes. “I should be asking you that. Your cheeks look pretty when they are flushed. And yes, he probably might be. Who knows.” Seonghwa complimented the girl, his eyes not leaving the road as they accelerated towards their location.
“Are you sure you don’t have a crush on me, Seonghwa?” Valencia shot back, her lips pulled into a smirk. She was feeling cocky, the freedom burned through her veins for the first time in ages. She never thought that sitting in a sports car would do that to her, but she was ready to get addicted to the feeling of sitting in a car which purred. “Aniyo, my eyes are on someone else completely.” Seonghwa was mesmerised by whoever he was talking about. Valencia side eyed the boy, but her brain was a mush right now.
She was intoxicated by the smell of the leather covered seat, the sweet smell of vanilla that lingered in the car from Seonghwa’s cologne. “Seonghwa, don’t tell me you are using Victoria’s Secret's cologne.” Valencia asked, her eyes fluttering close again as she let all sorts of smell overwhelm her brain. It was easy for her to get overwhelmed, especially since she was obsessed with this smell for the last three years.
“Nah, I stopped using that since I was sixteen. I now use manly vanilla cologne by Tommy Hilfiger.” Seonghwa grinned, knowing exactly how much the girl was obsessed with his vanilla cologne. “I would have kissed you if we didn’t ‘break up’ last year, Park.” Valencia snorted, refusing to open her eyes and letting the vanilla cologne do numbers to her brain.
“What can I say, I found love before you.” Seonghwa let out a laugh that echoed in the car. “And I still don’t know who. Come on, Hwa baby, tell me who.” Valencia whined, her head turning towards Seonghwa slightly. “My sweet little baby, you will know in due time.” Seonghwa blushed, but bounced around the question as they pulled into a parking lot.
Valencia’s mouth dropped as her eyes were assaulted by lights emitting from the more than ten cars present at the sight. “Joongie said that there are new players coming in today. Hopefully the silent killer should be arriving anytime soon.” Seonghwa informed as his car came to a halt. Seonghwa killed the power reaching to his engine and unbuckled his seat belt.
“Our girl’s first car meeting!” Seonghwa exclaimed as he climbed out of the car. Valencia’s palms turned sweaty and clammy as she realised that the eyes will be on her as soon as she exits the car. She took in a deep breath before plastering a poisonously sweet smile as she exited the car. She shoved her hands into her pockets, her eyes roaming around the underground parking, the dim light of the parking gave it a mysterious aura.
“Cia! Glad you could make it!” Jongho exclaimed from where he was leaning against San’s m Mercedes. Valencia jogged to the car, her dim smile turned into a lips splitting smile. She halted in front of the car, her eyes glittering with mirth. This was her place to be, with cars and the people who loved the cars.
“Same, Ho. San, your mercedes is looking hot as fuck.” Valencia complimented, her eyes examining every inch of the car. The obsidian black colour made the car ten times more sexy, with the red coloured tyre rims. “San, my man, you are out for my heart.” She whispered, approaching the car, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
“I know you have a special place for cars like mine, Black paint with red rims. Tell me that my car is the best already.” San smirked, leaning against the driver seat’s door. “Nah, she is nuts for the skyline, so if silent killer shows up, bro she is not even looking at your mercedes.” Jongho snorted, placing his forearms against the roof of the car.
San rolled his eyes before something lit up in his eyes. “Guess who the new players of the night are.” San humoured the girl, looking deep into the girl’s eyes. She just tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. “You might know, Sannie. So, spill the tea.” Valencia smacked the hood of the car knowing it would rile up the boy.
“Disrespect. But, it’s the lover boy.” San said, nodding towards the new car near a pillar. Valencia’s eyes followed the direction San nodded in, and man she was shocked to see Bahng Sports car in its all glory. So Seonghwa was right, Bang Chan was a street racer after all.
It was all Valencia dreamed it to be despite never seeing this car in this city. It was painted in emerald green with black horizontal stripes alongside the middle part of the car’s body. Oh it was a nice concept.
Chan was happily chatting with Hong Joong, who seemed to be admiring the piece of art. Minho and Han were working on something Valencia couldn’t see properly. For the first time since their meeting at school and sharing lunch with them, Valencia saw Han in a totally different light. He was no longer a stuttering mess and hid behind Minho, but he was commanding Minho around to attach a plug with the on-board diagnostic port.
He was radiating confidence and stability. Valencia was pleasantly surprised to say the least. “Still waiting for the promised skyline.” Valencia informed San, letting her legs lead her to the newbie group. They didn’t look like a newbie with their car, rather they looked like they had done this many times before.
“So, Bahng spider 8T. Crazy fucking capacity if you ask me.” Valencia chirped, her lips pulling into a wide grin. “What can you tell me about this, car freak?” Han asked, not looking from his laptop but a smirk was pulled on his plum lips. Valencia glanced at Han at the nickname, and man she liked it. Car freak.
Valencia decided to humour the kid and tilted her head as to diagnose the car. “It has a V15 type of engine, which is kind of suspicious and dangerous for a car like this but it seemed to be heavily customised, so I would be surprised if it didn’t work for this car. The capacity of this cylinder is close to 210 L. Interesting part is the torque and the horsepower of this car. Tell me, did you modify the car from its original torque and power?” Valencia asked, not removing her eyes from the car.
“Precisely, but we did all the changes with safety in our mind. We can’t lose our Channie Bang Bang.” Han winked at the boy, who abandoned fawning over the cars to stare at the girl as if he was a deer caught in headlights. “How many races have performed with this beauty?” Valencia inquired further, her eyes admired the beauty from afar.
“I would say, six races before moving to Melbourne.” Minho answered, his right arm was over the roof of the car. “Bad boys. Not the goody two shoes as I expected.” Valencia joked, her fingers aching to touch the beauty.
“You can touch my car. It won’t break.” Chan breathed out, as if he was finding it difficult to breathe a minute ago. “Are you sure, Channie boy? The car sure looks fragile, just like you, pretty boy.” Valencia was utterly disgusted with her attempt at flirting, but the ship has already sailed. “Well, I would be honoured for it to be touched by someone who knows her things.” Chan answered, amusement flashed on his face. Goddamnit.
Valencia walked forward, her knees were a few centimetres away from the grill of the car. She placed her palm flat against the hood of the car, stroking it like she was stroking her cat or she was stroking a living being. The matte finish of the paint made the car look so beautiful in Valencia’s eyes. She was sure looking like a fish caught out of the water as she was admiring the car.
“You seem to like my brand.” Chan stated as a matter of fact, his eyes trailing over the girl who looked like she was in a daze. “Channie boy, your parents and grandparents are my idol after the person who made the skyline.” Valencia answered, her lips pulled into a small satisfied smile.
“Did I hear it right? Are you obsessed over his parents?” Changbin’s voice broke Valencia out of her stupor. “Duh. His grandparents started a company which makes best SUVs. And his parents are my idols when it comes to sports car.” Valencia said, retreating her hands and shoved them into her dress pant’s pockets.
“Do you know Stefanie Everhart?” Valencia conversed with the buff boy, who tilted his head a little whilst the gears in his head turned. Stefanie was the known in the world of cars because of her supercar engines design and the other engines she had designed. The bulb in his head went off and recognition washed over his face.
“Who doesn’t know the goddess of the engine empire. She literally took over and made the best engines that are out there.” Changbin said, his eyes narrowing at the girl in suspicion. “That’s my mother.” Valencia stated, she noticed the subtle change in the group’s demeanour.
“No way!” The youngest member of the group exclaimed, he was standing behind the buff boy. “Yes way. She made the deal with Changbin’s parents to make super car engines around when I was fourteen or fifteen. I was a shy kid and I locked myself in my room and poured on higher standard’s biology.” Valencia snorted, awkwardly shifting on her heels as she didn’t wanted to admit that she was practically invisible to her parents at that age.
“I never knew Stefanie and Oskar Everhart had a daughter.” Hyunjin’s voice travelled from where he was standing. He must have been drooling over Yeosang’s Mclaren, and Yeosang must have tell him about the invisible daughter of engine world’s enigma.
“I was invisible to them until my brother poofed.” Valencia offered a little explanation. “Poofed? Did he die or did he disappear? I heard that he disappeared.” Felix’s deep voice broke through the silence that settled after Valencia’s vague explanation.
“Well it doesn’t have anything to do with your business, freckle boy. I will appreciate it if you don’t ask anymore questions.” Valencia offered him an icy smile, she hated it when people asked her about her brother. Guessing whether he ran away or six feet in the ground. It’s none of their business over whatever was going on with the Everhart family. It never was.
“Jeez, feisty.” He chuckled, making the girl internally scowl but chose to stay silent because she could feel Hong Joong’s lecture after the car meet up. “If this what feisty for you, sunshine. Then I wonder what you will do with my real feistiness.” Valencia snorted, a smirk played on her lips.
“Is that famous Valencia Everhart you always mention about, Wooyoungie?” a voice spoke up, making Valencia turn her head towards the source of the voice. It was clear that the old man wanted to douse the fire down, making sure no one is burned with the line of fire.
It was the famous racer on the track's Australian local prix. What the hell is a prix winner doing with literal children?! “Jackson Fucking Wang and BamBam. What the fuck are you two doing here?” Valencia blurted out, resulting in a collective laughter emitting from the people present there.
“Just hanging around for fun, girlie. Your friends have some sexy cars.” Jackson answered, amused by the girl’s knowledge about them. “As if your Bugatti is any less sexy. How the fuck did you make it street race worthy? I love Bugatti but that car is shit when it comes to races.” Valencia inquired, her eyes falling on a brilliant grey car behind the two men.
“Magic.” Bambam smirked, waving his fingers in a mysterious manner. Valencia snorted, shaking over the unseriousness of the two men. “How do you know so much about the cars though?” Jackson asked, his eyes piercing into the girl's gaze.
“Someone I know got me into it to ignore the stabbing pain of being ignored by their parents. It stuck with me to the point where I made it my business to tell you everything about the car with a single look at it.” Valencia offered a simple explanation, a ghost of a smile stayed on her lips.
“Is the silent killer gonna show up or was this car met for nothing?” Another new voice spoke up. It was her brother’s classmate, Jungkook. Junkook was with Namjoon and August D. Jimin and J-hope were hanging out with Mingi and Hoong Joong.
“Kookie, long time no see.” Valencia greeted the brunette, who flashed a smile at the girl. “Same could be said about you, Lenci. You have grown up.” Jungkook said, his lip piercing was something that was new about the boy. Definitely was in his rebellious stage.
“Wait, you knew Jungkook?” Seonghwa asked, his jaw was slightly hung at the prospect of Valencia already knowing their opponent. “My brother’s friends. They used to hang around my house.” Valencia offered, shrugging her shoulders.
“What the fuck? Is she a collector or something? She knows literally everyone.” Jeongin wondered, his jaw a little slack.
Valencia just chuckled before looking at Hong Joong, quirking her eyebrow. “Where is the skyline person, Hongie?” Valencia asked, feeling at home around the cars. “Well I don’t think they are coming tonight?” Jongho answered, glancing at his watch. It was quarter past nine, and the skyline person made it there before any of them had arrived with a car.
“When do y’all race?” It was Chan who posed the question. “Generally when it's not our exam season. And our university exams are going on. We don’t want to be exhausted in the morning.” Jungkook offered his side of the reason why they were not racing today.
“And tomorrow is the Australian open GT cup. I want my arms to be able to function properly.” Jackson answered, smacking the roof of his bugatti. “And tomorrow is a state dinner for my father, and naturally I am going too so I don’t want to look like I stayed up all night.” Hong Joong said, his father was a member of the Congress so that explained a lot about his posture.
“Ah, so when do you think will be the next race?” Han asked, his eyes finally tearing from his computer. “Next saturday. Everyone’s schedule is clear around that time.” Yeosang said, his eyes moving up from his phone where he had noted down the schedule.
“Seriously, next Saturday? I have important business to handle that day.” Valencia groaned, throwing her head back lightly. She wanted to see them race. “What business do you have that we don’t know of?” Mingi asked, finally speaking up.
“Mingi, my love, I volunteer for a mental health institute in Melbourne outskirts.” Valencia said, turning her head to give him a confused look. He should have known about her volunteering. She had let them already know about how she felt about mental health.
But her group of best friends were all confused, exchanging looks that silently inquired if they had any idea about such a thing that Valencia is going on about, but none of them had a strand of an idea. Her parents hadn’t bragged about it to their parents either. “I fucking told your asses about it at the starting of the year.” Valencia’s jaw was slacked.
Disbelief spread over Valencia’s facial features, leading her to shake her head. Of course. “Why would anyone be interested in your interests, Valencia?” She muttered to herself, as her head hung low and her hands fisting in the pockets of the dress pants. Her right hand fisted her phone to make the fisting of hands less awkward. She wanted to be hurt, she really wanted to feel the pang to her heart, but she felt nothing. She wasn’t worth it, she never was.
But as soon as that disappointed feeling washed over her face, it disappeared. She looked up, a smirk graced her lips and it made everyone present at the place uncomfortable. Did she just switched between her emotions in milliseconds? The same questions raced around their brain. Ateez knew that it was her unhealthy coping mechanism. She never let anyone know what she truly felt, and it scared them.
“Well now I am remin-” She was cut off by her phone coming to life. Her face paled as she realised why her phone was going off. She had placed hidden cameras and a microphone in her room for several unvoiced reasons.
She quickly fished out her phone and unlocked it. Her eyes focused on to who entered her room, trying to snoop around. It was her parents.
“Oskar, are you sure Hong Joong and Seonghwa have fallen into the trap of illegal racing?” Stefanie’s voice crackled through her phone. It instantly spread an eerie silence fall amongst the young car enthusiasts.
“It was information given to me by my deputy detective. He was pretty sure that he saw Hong Joong in the front seat with Seonghwa as they zoomed through the street. We don’t know which car he was driving though.” Oskar’s voice answered his wife’s question.
Seong Hwa and Hong Joong’s faces drained of all blood. They exchanged a panicked look, their hands clapping in front of their mouth in shock. Valencia refused to look up from her phone as she watched her father rummage through her room. He opened the closet’s door and went through her clothes and items placed in the closet.
“ She still has our disgraced son’s jacket. I am going to burn it.” Oskar’s agitation was palpable through the screen. Valencia breathed in a panicked breath, her thumb found its way to her teeth. Please please no, don’t fucking touch it.
“Oskar, don’t you dare. It’s all she has of her brother. I am not going to let you burn the only memory she cherishes of him. The way he left our lives may be cruel, but don’t take the only comfort of her brother away from her.” Stefanie reasoned with her husband, grabbing his arm to restrain him against doing whatever he was going to do.
Oskar visibly let his shoulder sage and said something incoherent to his wife before slamming the door of the closet shut and moving towards the drawer of her night stand. A relieved sigh fell from her lips as she shoved her left hand into her left pocket and curled her fingers against the keys she shoved in the pocket before leaving her house.
“ I know all the illegal racers are gathered somewhere near the Melbourne’s mall. There are patrol cars near Melbourne mall. I am leaving for Tony’s theatre because that’s where Valencia hangs out with boys. It will be clear if my daughter is involved in illegal activities or not.” Oskar’s voice came through, and it was like someone switched on the panic switch of the group.
Valencia turned her phone off and shoved her phone inside her pocket. “We need to leave for Tony’s theatre now!” Valencia declared, rushing to Seonghwa’s side. He grabbed her hand and rushed to his car as everyone did the same. “But the patrol cars?” Jeongin asked, his voice was shaky with anxiety.
“None of them knows how our car looks. We drive like normal people. And Melbourne mall is like five kilometres away from here. We are in the clear. Tony’s theatre is ten minutes from here and twenty minutes away from my house. We need to leave now to make it there.” Valencia explained loudly, getting into Seonghwa’s car.
Everyone powered on their car in silent agreement and Seonghwa was first to leave the parking lot and drive to their destination. Valencia’s heart was pounding loudly making her ears ring loudly. Her breathing came out in short pants as Seonghwa calmly pulled into the motorway, following the road to the second exit to the theatre. There were colourful dots dancing in front of her vision as the car zipped through the roads, carefully weaving through the cars at the limited speed.
“Valencia, love, breathe for me.” Seonghwa’s voice seemed far away as he kept calm for the ginger headed girl sitting in the passenger seat. “Are the boys following us?” Valencia asked, looking into side mirrors. “They are. Now focus on your breathing. You are on the verge of a panic attack.” Seonghwa answered, pointing at her side mirror. An emerald green Bangh sports car was shortly following them. Valencia inhaled a deep breath of relief before sagging back into the seat.
She quickly buckled herself upon realising that she was sitting in the car without any safety. “Why do you have a camera and microphone hidden in your room?” Seonghwa asked, a haunting feeling engraved itself in his brain. Why would the girl need it?
“To see if my parents are breaching my privacy again and what did they take away from my room every time they invade it so I can replace that again.” Valencia answered, her voice coming out small. “And because there certain things in my room that needs to be out of their fucking reach. That if they steal something from my room, I can have evidence against them.” Valencia added, mumbling under her breath.
“God, your parents are worse than mine. At least they ask me before raiding my messy den.” Seonghwa breathed out, a theatre coming in the view. He slowed the car as he started to pull towards the car parking. When they pulled into the car parking, the other cars turned up as well.
“Seonghwa, you weren’t allowed to close your door until they found us making out, even if it was on purpose, on your bed. They decided to give you privacy after that incident which we fucking planned to get your ass some privacy.” Valencia snorted, unbuckling her belt.
“True.” Seonghwa laughed, unbuckled his seat belt. He opened the door on his side of the car and got out of his seat and both of them joined the others. They looked at each other, anxiety oozing out of their every single pore. Chan cleared his throat, nervousness radiating off his body. “Now what?” Chan asked, his eyes moving from Seonghwa to Jackson to Hong Joong.
“Don’t worry. Tony knows us. He has sponsored many car meets. He will cover for us. For now, let’s run.” Hong Joong answered, pointing towards the back door leading into the theatre. Everyone held their breaths for a second, glued to their spot. “Seonghwa, come on!” Hong Joong exclaimed, extending his hand.
The boy beside Valencia rushed to the boy and began running towards the door followed by everyone else. Valencia’s brain did a quick calculation before a gasp fell from her lips. “Seonghwa and Hong Joong, you two are two sick sons of bitches!” Valencia exclaimed, her hands were in the air at their audacity.
The group ran through the door, on the bottom floor. Thankfully the theatre itself was on the ground floor so they didn’t had to worry about climbing the fucking stairs. “I cannot believe your asses. You hid this from me? Your fucking best friend since we were in our nappies?” She continued to shout at the newly revealed couple.
“I fucking agree with you, Lencia! What the fuck is this Kim Hong Joong!” Wooyoung shouted, the posters of the movies coming in the view. The group that was running towards the ticket booth that finally, finally, came into view.
“What are they yelling about?” The man asked, as the huge group came to halt in front of his desk. The man was definitely in his mid forties, with a pair of glasses lying crooked on his nose. “Later. Now point us to an empty screen and put any movie that you can play.” Valencia requested, leaning on the table, her hand resting her stomach as she scrunched her face in pain.
“Screen number 3. Transformers will be played on the screen.” Tony informed them, pushing a button beneath his desk and pointed the group towards the place without any questions asked. The group thanked the man before rushing to screen number three.
“You are a badass, Everhart.” Chan laughed, practically running beside the girl. “You can kiss my ass later, Bangie. Now sit with me on the last seat.” Valencia informed him, reaching out to wrap her hands around his warm hands. Valencia blushed at the feeling of their hands touching. She didn’t planned on grasping his hand, but apparently her brain was.
The footsteps echoed throughout the place as the group entered the screening room and scattered around and sat separately, either in pairs of two or three. Valencia clutched her chest as her breathing refused to go back to normal or let her try to calm it down.
The transformers started to play from the middle and Valencia silently thanked Tony a million times. Chan was staring at the girl, amused at the fact that she still had to let his hand go. “This is flattering and all, but you are still holding my hand.” Chan leaned in and whispered into the girl's ear.
Valencia turned bright red before hastily pulling her hand back and placing it in the lap. “I am sorry.” She apologised to him in a whisper. Chan smirked, not moving back and decided to continue the conversation.
“Well, why did you decide to sit with me?” Chan inquired, his eyes twinkling in curiosity. Valencia let out a gruffy sigh, before slightly turning her head towards the boy. “Because I wasn’t thinking. There was no ulterior motivation, Bang.” Valencia muttered, before moving her eyes back to the screen. Maybe there was, but he doesn’t have to know.
“Oh come on, you can admit that you find me handsome.” Chan mused, his tongue swiped across his bottom lip before grinning widely. Valencia snorted, her body shook slowly as she giggled at the boy’s over confidence.
“Only thing that I find you current moment is that you are a cocky mother fucker. If you tone it down, then we will see if you are handsome or not.” Valencia gave him an air kiss before looking in front again. Chan’s face flushed at the air kiss, and without letting Valencia know, he made a gesture of catching it and stuffing it in his pocket. The girl was after his heart.
“As if you are not a little egoistic yourself, Everhart. The way you carry yourself? It shouldn’t be as hot as it is.” Chan dared to flirt with the girl beside him. He holds his breath, thinking the girl would just scoff and tell him that he is not her type. But to the sweet delight of Chan, the girl spluttered visibly, her eyes snapping to his once again.
“You are playing a dangerous game here, Bang.” Valencia whispered, her eyes blown wide because what the fuck? “What dangerous game, Everhart? Have you committed a felony like I have?” Chan asked, the movie that was playing was a dull buzz as he leaned on his palm whilst his elbow rested on the arm of the chair.
“You have no idea about my life. My life is nothing like yours, it doesn’t run on pure adrenaline. Do you really want to fell head first in a place you have no idea about?” Valencia challenged the boy, cocking her head to the side. “Pros of running on adrenaline is I like discovering the places I have never been.” Chan mused, leaning in and his eyes never leaving Valencia’s. Weird energy crackled between them, threatening them to either drown or push them off a cliff. “You have been warned, Bang. Not everything that is pretty outside, is pretty inside.” Valencia gulped, she felt overwhelmed like this for the first time.
She had been with Seonghwa briefly, but she never felt this kind of pull with him. There was no challenging energy, there was nothing like she was feeling as she stared into those eyes. She thought Hyunjin had siren eyes, but in reality, Chan had those siren eyes, luring you to the darkest parts of the ocean. Valencia wanted to drown in them, disappear in them where no one would ever find her. “I am willing to take the risk.” Chan said, challenge accepted.
After what seemed to be ten minutes, the door of the iMax was opened, Valencia could hear the soft whispers amongst the owner of the theatre and her dad being exchanged. She stilled and prayed to every car god to save her ass, only for this once.
Her eyes refused to look up from the screen even if she wanted to look at her father and decide if she was gonna butchered tonight or not. The group in front mirrored her actions as they kept their head ahead and made sure not to make the mistake of looking back.
The tense silence amongst the occupant of the theatre was broken when they heard the retreating steps and closing of the door. Even after that nobody dared to look behind. It must be a trick. It has to be.
As the time passed painfully slowly, Valencia was first to look at the door, finding no one standing. A laughter bubbled inside her, she didn’t dare to let her laughter leave past her lips but it was too hard to hold it in as she burst into loud laughter.
The group snapped their heads towards the source of the laughter, thoroughly confusing them. Yeah the girl has finally lost it. Chan looked at the girl beside her, amused by the laughter. Valencia was clutching her stomach as she continued laughing. Tears pricked at the corner of Valencia’s eyes as she sagged into the chair and her body shook with laughter that left past her lips.
“I-it was s-so d-damn close!” Valencia managed it out finally, howling with laughter. It broke the group, that was enough for them to burst into laughter as well. Chan’s laughter was first to follow Valencia, laughing at the ridiculousness of their situation. The movie mindlessly played in the background as the theatre filled with laughter of the young racers.