-•PRESLEY•-

I rode with Haley, Ally, Alvin and Red. The track was surprisingly long to get to. We traveled through countless rural areas of land, each mile we went took us further away from the city. Each car took a different route to the track. Red said that if we all took the same route, it would look majorly suspicious if thirty-plus cars were caravanning to the same place.

I couldn't get over the feeling that Nathan was upset with me. It made my shoulders slump pathetically.

Haley nudged me. "There's nothing to be worried about," she said quietly.

Haley, Ally and I sat in the back seat while Alvin and Red rode in the front.

"I'm not worried," I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself.

Ally leaned in. "You have it written all over your face, little one."

I sighed. "Well, aren't you guys worried? It's dangerous...and not to mention, illegal."

"I used to worry," Haley admitted. "But the more my brother raced, the more he won and then it just became fun to watch."

"Everyone likes a healthy rivalry. It brings people together," Ally said, squeezing my hand. "Tonight's supposed to be about unity."

Alvin laughed from the passengers seat in front. "Don't feed the kid lies! Tonight's about bloodshed and the smell of burning rubber, that's all."

Haley rolled her eyes.

"Alvins not wrong," Red said, looking at me through the driver's mirror. "But that doesn't mean it's not a shit ton of fun, because it is. Plus, there's free beer!"

"Do you think Nathan's worried? Or Kyle?," I asked quietly.

I already could guess at the answer. This morning, Nathan walked with a sort of stiffness, almost as if he was bracing for what was to come. Maybe that was him being worried.

"Nathan and Kyle have won too many times to be worried," Alvin said arrogantly. "They're going to be fine, kid. They'd probably laugh at your worry right now."

We hadn't even reached the track yet when I reached into my pocket to retrieve a mint, hoping to relieve my nerves. Once I took in a breath, the coolness of the mint allowed me to sit back in my seat and close my eyes.

"Don't get too comfortable, kid," Red said from the drivers seat. "We're almost there."

I nodded, my eyes still closed, and snuggled into Haley's side. Normally, this was around the time I went to sleep, my eyes refused to protest any longer.

•••••••••••••••••••••

I woke to someone violently shaking my shoulder. My eyes opened and I yelped back in surprise to see a very excited Alvin grinning in my face.

"Take a deep breath, little guy," Alvin said. "This is what a gang race smells like."

"Like beer and cow waste?," I whispered, rubbing my eyes.

Alvin chuckled. "That's the best part."

Red appeared behind Alvin. "Go with the girls," he instructed. "I got Presley."

Alvin nodded and jogged excitedly to catch up with Haley and Ally.

"All right, kid," Red let out a deep breath. "Before you leave this car, what's the one rule I want you to follow?"

I looked around at the crowd ahead. "No wandering, right? That's what Kyle said."

He grinned. "Cool, now lets go."

I hopped out of the truck and followed Red. He led us in the direction that Alvin went where there was a big rowdy crowd. As we neared the crowd, the smell of alcohol became stronger and it took me back to that horrible house I had once lived in, the house that I never intended to return to.

I spotted Raymond and what I assumed to be his father. They had smug expressions on their faces when they met my gaze. I immediately ducked my head.

The K Blades probably thought they were going to win tonight.

They probably thought they were going to win me tonight.

I shuddered at the thought and kept close to Red.

"Everyone has their own tent?," I asked. Surveying four separate tents that were displayed apart.

Red nodded. "Yup. If there were no tents, the Tyrants would kill the Watts and we'd kill the K Blades....or we'd all just kill each other," he laughed.

He ruffled my hair at the alarmed expression I gave him. "Don't look so scared, kid," he chuckled, then nudged me. "Stop staring at them."

I quickly stopped gazing at the tents packed with armed gang members. "Sorry," I murmured.

"If you stare, you better be prepared to fight," Red said, looking stern. "Nathan would murder me."

"And me," I muttered.

Red laughed out loud. "Kid, you have no idea what you're talking about. He wouldn't hurt you even if it meant he'd get a billion dollars over night."

I didn't know what to say to that, so my lips stayed sealed.

When we reached our tent, everyone was crowding around Nathan and Kyle. They were both dressed in black racing suits with the creeds logo on their arms. The black of the racing suit made Nathan's raven black hair seem even darker, if that was possible. Excited voices shouted at them. Kyle grinned down at them, Nathan wasn't engaging in the excited banter, he looked like he was looking for something. His calculated green eyes scanned the area.

When his gaze landed on me, his shoulders seemed to relax in the slightest. He looked to Red and nodded. Red saluted to him. Nathan rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the excited Creeds members surrounding him.

"Come on, little one," Red said, entering the big tent. "Let's get you your first beer."

Before I could protest, Red pulled me by my sleeve into the tent. He sat me down in one of the chairs, dug into a cooler and offered me a beer. I shook my head.

Red sighed. "Kid, for some reason you seem worried. Now," he smirked, " I'm not going to ask why, but I have a pretty good idea why," his gaze shifted towards Nathan. "Drink this, it'll help you enjoy the night."

"I'm not worried about Nathan," I whispered. "This is just...illegal, that's all."

Red smiled. "All the more reason to take a nice, big gulp of this," he shook the beverage in front of my face.

My nails dug into my palms to stop the embarrassing tears that I felt fill my eyes. Just looking at the alcohol in front of me reminded me of all the beatings I took, of all the pain I suffered. I swore to myself that I would never take a single sip of alcohol in my life, I would not turn out like him. I never wanted to see another beer, ever.

"Why is he crying?," Nathan demanded, taking the beer from Red and tossing it aside.

"Relax, Nate," Red held his hands up in surrender as Nathan approached him. "I just thought it'd be a nice tradition to give him his first beer. I was just trying to get him to relax."

Nathan fixed his fierce gaze on me suddenly, I flinched.

Nathan looked away. "Forget it," he grumbled. "I have to go prepare, remember what we talked about," he said pointedly to Red and walked off.

I sniffled. "What...what did you guys talk about?"

Red shook his head. "Don't worry about it, kid," he grabbed a chair and sat in front of me. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry, all right?," he said, sincerely.

"Not your fault," I replied weakly.

He dug into the cooler again. "Soda?," he smirked.

I giggled and extended my hand. "Sure."

"What time does the race start?," Haley asked from behind me, her and Ally walked toward us, grabbing chairs to sit in. "I tried asking my brother, but he's a little grumpy right now," Haley rolled her eyes.

Ally laughed. "A little? He almost bit your head off."

Alvin approached us from the crowd that was previously crowded around Nathan and Kyle.

"You guys know where the restrooms are? I looked all over the place," Alvin said, looking annoyed. "Last time, they were right there," he pointed ahead of us. "How can they not be there now? It's ridiculous."

Haley smirked. "Maybe it was witchcraft."

Alvin crossed his arms and looked warily at her. "You never know."

"Will you relax?," Ally said, shaking her head disappointedly. "I think I see them," she said, pointing towards the trees.

"I need to go too," I piped up.

Red threw his head back and groaned. "Can't you like...hold it?," he asked.

"You don't have to take me, it's okay," I explained, getting up from my chair.

Red got up from his seat, ignoring me. "Let's make it quick, yeah?," he muttered.

I nodded.

As Alvin, Red and I walked towards the bathrooms, a group of rowdy gang members stumbled upon our path. They all had lighting bolt tattoos on their hands.

Maybe it was their gang symbol.

As they walked past us, one of them forcefully bumped into me, his drink fell to the floor and so did I. He was big boned with the crookedest teeth I'd ever seen.

"Look what you did, you little shit!," he shouted at me. "You fucking spilled my beer!" The big guy took a drunken step closer to me.

My back was aching from the fall and I was in momentary shock. Thankfully, Red and Alvin rushed to my aid.

"Hey, man," Red said, standing in between us. "It was an accident, he didn't mean it."

"Yeah he did!," he shouted, locking eyes with me. "That little punk did it on purpose."

Don't cry, Presley. Don't cry, Presley. Don't cry.

There was no use chanting that incantation in my head, there were already tears spilling down my cheeks.

"Come on," Alvin said to the big boned guy. "He's just a kid, he doesn't even know what gang you claim."

Another gang member with the same lighting bolt tattoo spoke up. "Isn't that the healer boy?," he observed me. "Looks too young to be in a gang," he said, turning to Red. "Where'd you find him?"

I felt my body be hauled to my feet by a pair of strong hands. I looked up hastily to meet Nathan's angry expression. I dug little crescents into my skin to stop myself from full on sobbing.

"Stay close," he grumbled into my ear.

"Is there a problem?," Nathan announced, his voice boomed with familiar authority. "I hope not, not after I let you guys pick engines before me."

The big boned guy looked warily at Nathan then gathered his courage again and pointed at me. "That little punk spilled my beer," he slurred.

A muscle in Nathan's jaw twitched. "Get a new one, I hear they're free this year."

The lighting bolt guy appeared enraged. "You making fun of me, Pierce?"

Nathan took a step forward this time. He said something to him that I couldn't hear. The big boned gang member looked from me to Nathan with a slightly frightened expression.

To my surprise, the group of rowdy guys started to turn back around and head towards their tent, but not before the big boned guy locked eyes with me.

"I uh, I'm sorry, kid," he laughed nervously. "I probably should've watched where I was going."

I was too frightened to speak, or move.

Nathan nodded once and the guy turned to join his gang at their tent.

Alvin grinned at me. "You see that? Those Watts ran off like a bunch of-,"

"What did we tell you?," Nathan turned to me abruptly, voice raised. "Hmm?"

I looked down shamefully at my feet.

"Nate, don't get mad at him, it was my fault," Red cut in. "Those guys were just drunk."

I lifted my head tentatively.

Nathan took a deep breath, he seemed to be counting under his breath again. He approached me when he regained his composure.

"Are you hurt?," he asked, gently this time. "Did he hurt you?"

"I-I just fell," I whispered. "I'm fine."

He scanned my form from head to toe, inspecting me for injuries. When he found none, he cleared his throat and turned to Red.

"I'm starting in twenty minutes, get him back to the tent by then," was all he said before he departed without a second glance at me.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

"Don't I have to be with the other healers?," I asked Red when we came back from the bathroom.

We sat in the Creeds tent with everyone else, awaiting the sound of running engines.

"The boss doesn't want you there," he said, looking at the track.

"I thought he did," I frowned.

"I'd be too easy for someone to take you," he explained. "He changed his mind, or Nathan made him change his mind, either one."

I ignored the pang in my chest when the thought of belonging to the K Blades resurfaced in my mind. I didn't think Red knew, somehow I wished he did, so I wouldn't have to think about it alone.

"It's individual races first," Haley said from next to me. "The crowd doesn't start to get wild until it's the group race."

"Nathan and Kyle have to race the track in under a minute," Alvin explained. "Then they can move on to the group race. Nathan said he was going first."

Just as I was about to speak, the sound of an engine grasped my attention. A single white race car slowly made its way to the starting line. It was Nathan. My stomach felt queasy.

The time keepers stood next to the car that Nathan was in and explained the rules to the audience. As I looked around me, I realized that they all seemed eager to watch Nathan race, they were probably waiting for him to fail, it would make the night a whole lot more interesting, I assumed.

"On my buzzer, race you're engine, Mr. Pierce," the main timekeeper instructed Nathan. "Under one minute, or you're out," he reminded him.

"What gang are the timekeepers from?," I whispered to Alvin.

Alvin shook his head, still focusing on Nathan's ready position ahead. "The timekeepers are outsiders, they have no bias to any one of us."

Makes sense.

"ONE," the timekeeper boomed.

"TWO."

"THREE."

A loud buzzer rang through the open area and suddenly, Nathan jolted the white sports car forward. I spotted Raymond out of the corner of my eye who tensed at seeing Nathan take off.

I turned my head to look upon the clock that counted down the seconds. My palms became sweaty as I anxiously followed the movement of Nathan's car. He kept a seemingly relaxed pace throughout the track which left me even more anxious.

I looked at the clock again and saw that he only had twenty seconds to round the corner of the track and make it past the finish line.

The Creeds in front of me were shouting loudly while the boss watched his son intensely with rigid posture.

Just as I was beginning to worry, Nathan easily curved the corner and was breezing past the finish line. Haley and Ally squealed while Alvin and Red embraced each other in celebration.

I found myself grinning, a small part of tension gracefully lifted from my chest.

"It's not over yet, buddy," Red said, blowing out a breath. "The group race is where he needs to win."

He's going to win. He's going to win. He's going to win.

He has to win.

It was Kyle's turn to race the track, when he crossed the finish line, the Creeds crowded around him excitedly. This meant that the Creeds were officially  allowed to enter the group race. I looked to Nathan to see his reaction and found that he was already looking at me. To my surprise, he winked charmingly at me before he turned back to Kyle.

I cursed myself for the blush that my cheeks gave.

He must've been in better spirits.

When the Creeds crowd calmed down, six more racers from each gang raced the track individually. The Tyrants, as Red explained, didn't make it to the finish line in time, meaning they weren't allowed to be in the group race.

Alvin leaned over me to talk to Red. "See? I told you Greg wasn't going to pull through," he snickered.

Red threw his head back with laughter. "He was too drunk to steer right," he retorted.

Just as I was about to ask when the group race was supposed to start, something caught my eye, no, someone.

I scrubbed my eyes to make sure who I was seeing was actually there. It looked just like...Ross. I got up from my seat to take a closer look but the figure who resembled Ross headed towards the darkness of the parking lot.

I sat back down in my seat and gave myself a shake.

Don't be silly, Presley. You're just nervous, it wasn't him. It couldn't be.

"Pay attention," Red said eagerly. "They're starting, don't be too alarmed if...stuff happens."

I snapped my attention to him, thoughts of Ross already gone. "What stuff?," I asked warily.

"He means if you see knives start to fly, don't be surprised," Haley said, casting me a cautious look.

"I thought...I thought you said that was against the rules," I said, feeling my heartbeat increase.

Alvin scoffed. "They set rules to seem organized, that doesn't meant anyone actually follows them."

A cold October breeze swept across my face, I suppressed a shiver.

I dug my frozen hands in the warmness of my sweater pockets and bit the inside of my cheek, awaiting the group race.

"How are they even supposed to win?," I whispered to Red. "Nathan wouldn't tell me too much."

Red glanced down at me and sighed. "They changed the rules this time. Now, both Nathan and Kyle are supposed to cross the finish line after each other, consecutively. When Nathan crosses that finish line, Kyle has to be right on his tail to win."

Before I could convey my overwhelming emotions, the timekeeper's voice rang out.

"Ladies and gentlemen!," he shouted into the microphone. "How many of you want to see these racers put on a show tonight?"

A series of cheers went around the crowd.

"All right then!," he shouted. "How about we get this show on the track?"

Red and Alvin whistled loudly, the crowd cheered.

"ONE."

My hands became uncomfortably moist.

"TWO."

"THREE."

The blaring buzzer went off and the six race cars skittered ahead. Once my eyes landed on Nathan's unique, white sports car, my attention never differed anywhere else. I kept my eyes trained on him, thinking that would keep him out of trouble.

Kyles car followed directly behind his, which offered me comfort. There was a bright yellow sports car that was at level with Nathan's.

"That's Raymond's car," Red said, keeping his attention on the track.

For a moment, Nathan and Raymond raced alongside each other at an even pace, but it seemed that Raymond wouldn't allow it anymore. He lurched left, almost as if he wanted to run Nathan off the road. Swiftly, Nathan sped ahead in time to dodge the attack. He smoothly weaved in between several cars to put a complicated distance between him and Raymond.

Kyle stayed a couple cars behind Nathan, but when they turned the corner, they were at an even pace.

Alvin grinned. "Fuck yeah. Only one more lap to go."

Raymond's raging engine darted up to where Nathan was taking the lead on the second lap. In the blink of an eye, I witnessed Raymond start to fire rounds of bullets from his rolled down window.

I leapt up at lighting speed from my seat, as did everyone around me. Haley grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I turned to her, but she wasn't looking at me.

"Tell them to stop!," vibrating panic rose within me.

Red shook his head, jaw clenched. "This isn't against the rules, little one."

I quickly turned my attention back to the track where the sounds of engines heightened. Nathan was still keeping up with the race, but it was clear that he