You blamed me, for I was a fume in the morning. You never saw the flame I was last night.

----------------------

His grey eyes were so cold. So terrifying. Just his looks can make a grown up adult to wet his pants. His face witnessed so much of violence. His silver colored lips were alien and there were no blood in his facial nerves. None of the party people noticed him slipping out . Jake did.  As soon as he showed up, the air around Jake turned biting cold.

Something was strange. The lunatic walked from the direction of the women's room. The men's room was on the opposite side.

Did he lose his way?

What business did he have in the women's room?

A bulb glowed brilliantly inside Jake's brain. Amy. She went to the restroom ten minutes ago.. Oh God!! Why, I've been so careless!!

Ellie was passed out on his shoulder. He shook her up.

"Jake what's wrong?" she groaned in sleep

"Ellie, are you awake?"

"Yes but.." Jake didn't pause to listen to another word. He strode away from her to search Amy. Ellie would definitely be pissed off by Jake's dismissive attitude, but he didn't care about it. Jake wasn't in the mood to gloat. Amy was found nowhere in the crowd. The last place he had to search was,

The women's room.

It was so close . Jake even had his hand on the handle, but he couldn't turn it open. It was so hard to click open a simple door handle.

Jake's heart pounded against his ribs when the handle turned by itself. The person opening from the other side struggled to pull the door. Jake realized, that he was clutching the external handle . He yanked back his arm and the door flew open. The girl behind didn't see it coming. The door hit her head and the next minute her forehead was swollen.

"Aw shit. What the hell?" She rubbed her forehead in anguish.

Relief flooded throughout Jake's body. It was Amelia who opened the door. It took few minutes for him to register that she was in pain.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were standing behind the door"

She looked up at him.

A simple movement.

She just looked up at him. Jake didn't know looks could be so daunting. The dark eyes, and the piercing stare it gave. He wanted to throw up everything that he ate in the buffet. He lurched backward towards the wall. His hands gripped the wall for support, as his legs failed him. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry like a desert.

Nick punched the wall beside Jake's head. Jake wanted to act brave, but Nick was like a grim reaper who sucked all the positive feelings that a living being could possibly feel. With both of his hands on the wall by Jake's sides, Nick pierced holes into Jake's face.

"What do you want Nick?" Jake looked back into his eyes. Both of them had a internal battle with their eyes as the weapons. Jake was scared of Nick as his brain evoked a horrendous scene from his past whenever they both met.

The pool of blood. His weak limbs . The enraging laughter . The helpless him.

Jake tightened his fists to stop the flow of memories inside his brain. He tried to concentrate on the present. Instantly a question popped up inside him. Why did Nick show up out of the blue? Only when Amy was in grave trouble, Nick came into the scene. Jake was right. Something had happened before the grey-haired weirdo walked away from the women's room.

Nick tilted his head and scanned Jake's face, "Turner what the fuck is your business here?"

In Nick's language, f-words were exclusively used for his host. Jake was infuriated. Amy never deserved any of those insults. Nick had no rights to curse Amy. If anyone was at fault, it was him.

Only him.

Jake constantly reminded himself that Nick was a part of Amy, so that he wouldn't do the aggressive man-handling part to him. Gently, Jake pushed Nick away.

"You. Are a bitch" Jake cursed back

"Yes I am. I regret why did I leave you alive. I am a bitch, ain't I?" Nick pressed his lips into a thin line. Nick finally proved that killing people turned out to be his hobby. Jake ignored his threats and shot him back with a question that he was longing to ask.

"Whom did you meet now?"

"Hmm..He is a ass like you Turner. Blatantly meddling with other people's life without knowing his limits. I don't know what the hell were you doing with Amy and I don't care. Just get lost from here." Nick mumbled

"But.."

"No buts. Just leave before I decide to throw a knife at your throat for the second time. Remember, I don't repeat the same mistake again and again. This time it would be a bullseye. "

Jake dug his finger nails into his palm 

"Fine. Do whatever you want. I won't give a damn" he spat. In a spur of moment Jake removed his blazer and threw it on Nick's face. He actually wanted to wrap it around Amy, as her dress was stained with red wine, but Nick spoiled the moment. Jake was freaking inside, but he maintained his composure. He turned away and walked out casually.

                                                         ***********

The current rendezvous point of the Brooklyn street racers was just a few blocks away from the restaurant. Though Jake was on a hiatus from racing, he never gave up on paying visits to check the well being of his mates. While sauntering at the neighborhood, his legs automatically walked towards their direction.

Before Jake could reach the arena, he saw few men beating up a teenage kid in a dark alleyway. Jake ignored it. People might think Jake was being a heartless monster, but that was how things worked there. If you want to enter the dark side, you've got to make yourselves ready for it. Everything here is on the do or die basis. If you're strong enough, you fight for yourself and if you're a wimp, you leave without turning back.

There was a huge gathering in the track. It was Sunday, so they were having races with lump sum wager. It was so good for Jake to be back at the track. The smell of rusted metals and engine oil, the majestic roaring of the bikes, the hot chicks and their constant cheering made him feel home. The people there were assholes most of the time, but those imperfections made it fun. The place was his haven. It meant the world to him. It took a lot for Jake to leave his world, but he was then getting used to the new world he chose. Anyways, change was the only thing that never changed.

Conceitedly Jake trod into the crowd. The kids in the melee gasped at Jake. Some of them were just staring at him in admiration, while the others gossiped. Jake didn't realize that he came in face to face contact with his unforgivable enemy. The sight of him made his blood boil. Jake clenched his fists till his knuckles turned white.

"Jake, I was really worried about you. Why didn't you show up? Were you and your scaredy cat brother frightened of me?"smirked Rob. Jake felt that Rob really had an appreciable sense of humor. How could he even show up after getting beaten up by a girl? Considering the fact that two of his friends were still in the hospital, Jake gave a humorless laugh.

"At least we didn't get beaten up by a girl" sniggered Jake. Rob's face got crumpled up like a waste paper.

"You want to have it that way? Fine. Let's race" he grunted

"Do you want to race after being miserably defeated at the beach? Are you too determined or too shameless?"

"Booo..." everyone around them howled chorally.

"Shut up Turner. I have someone else to race on my behalf" He waved his hand into the group of racers. A young man came before him. Jake's heart beat pathetically fast. He wished he never came there in the first place. He must've stayed back at the party drinking up to my heart's content. It is a nightmare now. It is a nightmare from which he couldn't wake up.

"Folks, time to introduce the new racer of my team. Drum rolls please." Everyone tapped on their bikes and other things for a drum roll

"Meet Finnick. He's going to be one of our family"

Jake himself couldn't tell that it was Amy. Nick was perfectly dressed like a guy in the downtown. As usual he had his hair tightly packed under his beanie. Shockingly, he wore the blazer that Jake hurled at him. Nick had a smug expression readily made on his face.

What the hell?

"No" snapped Jake. Everyone were taken aback by his sudden refusal to race.

"Oooo.. Is the legend street racer scared to race a rookie?" chuckled Rob

"No, not like that. He is not a worthy opponent. I don't waste time on newbies" grumbled Jake

"Let's see who is the rookie" Nick threw a helmet at Jake, "Just race and we'll find who is worthy and who is not"

Jake accepted his challenge. It was a stupid decision to race with Nick. The tracks were wet. Even a small drift would cause a major accident. Because of him, Amy might get hurt. But Jake couldn't lose his prestige in his own kingdom by refusing to race with Nick.

They both didn't have a bike, but there were numerous volunteers who gave their bikes. Jake threw his leg over a bike and wore the helmet and gloves. He made sure even Nick had those.

"Gentlemen, start your ignition" instructed Rob. Jake turned the ignition on and gave a thrust to the throttle, holding the break. The back wheel roared and there was smoke all over the arena. The girls howled at his trick. Jake winked back at Nick. Nick mouthed the f-word.

"On your marks. Get set. Go."

Their bikes growled. Nick started right away, but Jake did a front wheeling and disappeared into the maze of streets. Wet tracks were quite a challenge. Other street racers fell at least twice before reaching the finishing point. Since Jake had a previous off-road experience, he nailed the track.

Jake drove slower than his usual speed to have an eye on Nick. While turning into streets and alleys Nick struggled, but eventually he managed to drive without drifting. Jake slowed down even more to have a chat with Nick.

"Nick" he screamed "While turning, come down to the second gear and reduce the throttle. Don't apply the brakes. Like that you could have a smooth turning without drifting" Jake doubted whether Nick heard his words. He just felt it was his duty to inform.

But Nick had a completely different idea. He drove closer to Jake and dodged on Jake's bike. Jake would've driven off-course if he hadn't managed to apply the brakes, which brought the vehicle to a complete halt.

"On your face, Turner" Nick waved a enthusiastic goodbye.

Kid, you've made the biggest mistake of your life. No one dares to mess with Jake Turner, the Lightning McQueen of the road. Face it, cause you've got this on yourself.

Never in Jake's lifetime, the speedometer stayed constantly in its highest. But now, it stayed. When it comes to winning, Jake turned into a beast. He was getting desperate. It was a battle between distance and self confidence.

Jake made it to the rear of Nick's bike. Nick wouldn't be able to cheat, as they were only a few meters away from the finishing line. They both were constant. Anyone could make it first. It was not certain.

The finishing line came right after a turning. A place where the bikes have to slow down. Jake planned to take advantage of that time. Making a turn without slowing down was suicide. Anyhow it was a do or die situation. It doesn't hurt to try.

Nick and Jake reached the turning at the same time. Nick slowed down in accordance to Jake's previous instructions. He reduced the throttle. But Jake didn't. Leaning to his left he made a huge turn in the same speed. The engine budged to Jake's order. Eventually Jake made it first, with Nick on his tail. Jake was immersed in a thunder of applause and cheering howls.

He turned back to boo on Nick's face. Jake was taken aback because Nick was smiling at him. Nick was smiling at him.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Dude, I almost had you" He gave a wicked grin after uttering those words. Unknowingly Jake's vision blurred with tears.

Though it was a famous dialogue, he mustn't have said that. Particularly before me. It reminded me of the subject that I've buried deep inside me for years. It was buried for the well-being of everyone. Why did a third person dig it up? How did he know about it?

My first love...

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AN: Hey guys, I know the updates nowadays are a little bit slower than my normal schedule of updating. I've been taking a break to think, and do some research for improvising the story. I didn't want to give any sort of rubbish to my wonderful readers. Hope you understand.

If you want to know from which movie the dialogue that Nick finally said to Jake came from, watch the youtube video in the beginning.

Votes and comments are highly appreciated

Happy Reading:-)