With her hands tucked into her armpits, Elke stood with a grimace. The carpark was full and anticipation was high. Everyone was wrapped up in large jackets, their breaths exhaling mist from the cold. The night had a chill from the dwindling spring and much to Elke's dismay, she was at another car meet in a jumper and jeans.

She thought she would survive in her attire but if she was cold now, she dreaded to think what she would be like in the thick of winter.

Roan was being loud and everyone knew why. Instead of being parked amongst the other sports cars, Roan's black WRX was in the street. He stood beside it, his friends boosting his confidence and clapping him on the shoulders. They held cans of beer and Roan took small sips, wary of how much alcohol he was consuming. He needed to be sober if he was going to race.

Next to the black vehicle was the silver Impreza. Unlike the obnoxious group on the other side of the street, Joost and his friends stood quietly. The driver leaned against his car with one hand in his hoodie pocket and his other holding a cigarette. Stuntje, Tantu and Daan mirrored him, the four facing each other as their smoke sat above them in a cloud. Enzo, Apson and Alanis stood to the side with cans of drink. While Joost faced his back to tonight's opponent, Alanis took it upon herself to eye Elke on the opposite side of the street.

She wanted to call her over but a look from her boyfriend stopped her. Apson had been briefed by Joost before arriving and it had been made clear that they needed to keep their distance for the night. The race Joost was mixed up in was planned by mistake, a bargain that ended without a positive.

Now that Joost was set to race and a certain face was being associated with his opponent, his friends gave Elke nothing more than a wave. Joost knew that Roan hadn't told her about their encounter at the corner shop and he wanted to keep it that way. That meant gritting his teeth and letting her stand on her own as her pathetic boyfriend thought he was going to win.

'Alright! We doing this or what?!' Roan called aloud while walking around his car's bonnet. The bystanders that lined the sidewalks and grass quietened. They had been waiting for the race all night and maneuvered from the carpark to the street for the anticipated event.

'Remember the wide corner on Kent Street,' Stuntje mumbled to Joost. The blonde nodded wordlessly and dropped his cigarette, twisting his sneaker into its lit end. His friends all did the same, not needing to give words of encouragement. If anything, they should have been sending their condolences to the other side of the street.

Joost looked up for the first time since parking his car. He met Roan's narrowed eyes and wondered if he was going to be looking the same when he sees him in his rearview mirror. The race that Joost didn't want was still an opportunity to add to his pride and fuel his enjoyment. He couldn't deny the jitter in his gloved fingers and the yearn to speed past the man who was naive, cocky and a fool.

Roan got into his car and Joost opened his own door to do the same. Like a moth to a flame, Joost broke his one rule of the night and looked to where Elke stood. She was already looking at him. Through her contorted features, Elke strained her lips into a close-lipped smile.

When Roan told her that Joost agreed to race, Elke put her face into her hands. Embarrassed by her boyfriend and riddled with worry for both parties, the girl prayed that nothing would go wrong. She was powerless as Roan turned on his engine and felt a dread in her stomach when Joost disappeared into his car to do the same.

The engines rumbled and Joost gripped the steering wheel. Unlike Roan's, Joost's knuckles were flushed underneath his fingerless gloves. His foot rested just enough on the clutch while Roan's slipped on and off to rev the accelerator. Joost hated the noise, glancing to his left to curl his lip in a scowl before looking to the deserted road ahead.

Tantu was the one to give the signal. He stood in between the Impreza and WRX, his hands up as if to keep them at bay. The windshields displayed his friend and Roan and Tantu resisted turning his raised hand into a middle finger to the latter. But instead, the man gave Joost a vocal look, before he dropped his arms to his sides.

People cheered as the two cars pulled away, their tires spinning with deafening squeaks. The smell of burning rubber was left behind and Elke watched as her boyfriend and neighbour set off down the street.

'Do you love him?'

Elke jumped in fright. She had watched the black and silver spoilers until they turned a corner and hadn't heard Alanis' approach. Where tire marks now scarred the tar, the shorter girl stood next to Elke with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

'W-What?' Elke said, eyes shifting nervously. She assumed Alanis was talking about Roan but her heart convinced her that she wasn't certain.

'Do you love your boyfriend?' Alanis said again. 'Because you should dump him.'

Elke coughed to cover her laugh. She glanced down to her feet and when she looked back up, she expected to see the hint of a joke on the girl's face. But she was serious, her lips tight and unmoving from the street. In a small panic, Elke tried to think of what to say.

'I do love Roan,' she said, struggling to meet Alanis' eye.

'But?'

'He's...' Elke couldn't believe that she was admitting this to someone she had met once. 'His priorities are out of order. I think I'm forgotten about some times.'

'I understand,' Alanis said, thought in her words. 'I think you should break up with him.'

'What?' Elke said for the second time tonight. Her wide eyes were glued to Alanis who was yet to have a smile grace her face to show she was joking.

'When he loses this race, and I'm sorry to tell you that he definitely will, you should break up with him-'

'What are you babbling about, liefje?'

An arm appeared around Alanis' shoulders. Its pull made her stumble but she regained her balance when she put a hand to the chest next to her. Despite it's loving nature and the wide smile on Apson's face, there was a tightness in the grip that only Alanis could feel.

Apson plastered his best grin as Elke looked between him and his girlfriend. He had been watching the interaction from afar, knowing that he and the others were going to have to keep quiet about what they were witnessing. With Joost racing the streets, Alanis had slipped away to voice her prominent opinion about Elke's boyfriend.

'Nothing, lieverd. Just telling El to break up with her loser boyfriend,' the girl battered her eyelashes up at Apson, knowing that she was only fooling the confused brunette watching.

'That's a little invasive, don't you think?' Apson tried.

'Not at all! Girls need to look out for other girls. It's how we protect each other, right, Elke?'

Nodding slowly, Elke looked between the couple who were obviously talking with their eyes. Alanis was satisfied with Elke's affirmation and blinked at Apson innocently.

The truth was that they had found nothing sinister when it came to Roan Colijn. His record was clean besides a hefty amount of paid speeding tickets. It further solidified the picture they had of the man; he was arrogant and stupid enough to speed but didn't have the badboy side of him that he portrayed so poorly.

Apson had relayed the information to Joost in relief but it wasn't reciprocated. Joost insisted that the outcome was worse than he had hoped.

Nathan didn't befriend people just because he liked them, he befriended people that were useful. If Roan's slate was clean, then Nathan had to have a use for it, and by default, a use for him. Joost made it clear that everyone was to act like they usually did and let Elke make her own choices. He sensed her unrest in her relationship, so if things went as he hoped, Roan would be out of the picture soon enough.

But that wasn't good enough for Alanis. So, as soon as the general chatter replaced the burnt tire smell, Alanis was across the street and inserting herself into Elke's decision.

'Well, we should leave Elke alone now,' Apson said while steering Alanis away. 'It won't be long until they finish-'

With that, the sounds of engines and screeching tires sounded. Everyone looked behind them, eager to see one car in front of the other. The fast approaching headlights made Apson and Alanis step onto the curb beside Elke. There was no time to regroup on the other side of the street. So, their fate was settled beside the anxious, oblivious brunette.

Elke was ashamed to say that she was disappointed to see the Impreza trail behind the WRX. After all of Roan's confident talk and shameless grinning, losing a drag racing would be the perfect way to silence him. Not only that, but Elke thought that Joost's modesty in his car and driving was because he was secretly an elaborate racer.

It appeared that Elke wasn't the only one who had the same thoughts.

As Roan pulled to a stop, he was out of his car and grinning before Joost could make an appearance. He joined his friends while relishing in the applause from spectators. He left his door open in arrogance to the Impreza that pulled up beside it. As Joost stepped out of his car with a frown, Elke noticed how quiet Apson and Alanis were beside her.

'Dude,' Daan was the one to speak first. The group gathered around their friend who heaved himself out of the driver's seat. They looked between each other in disbelief, trying to find any sign of emotion in Joost's defeat. His expression could have been taken as irritation with his tight jaw and stormy eyes. But with some patient waiting and Apson and Alanis' return, they knew there was something more.

'What happened?' Tantu pushed.

Leaning back against where his petrol cap was, Joost crossed his arms over his chest. He could feel the burning heat of stares on the back of his neck. He was sure there was one that he was dying to turn and meet but he resisted. His friends' stares and patience for an answer drove him to direct his eyes towards his right back wheel. The turn of his head made the group do the same and their questions were answered.

'That dirty fucker,' Stuntje cursed, looking to where Roan took a beer from his friend.

Joost never lost a race. He was too good and his job depended on him being quick-thinking and skillful behind the wheel. But a driver could only do so much when two bullets were shot from his blindspot.

One had pierced the wheel and the other left a hole in the plate above it. It had surprised Joost even though nothing surprised him anymore.

He had been several metres in front of Roan before he felt the road grow bumpy and heard the release of a casing. If he was on the job, Joost would have been able to correct the car's sag and make it with a flat tire. But in a harmless race, Joost hadn't expected it and was being overtaken by the black WRX.

'So he's dim. He's a meathead whose going to get himself killed,' Apson said lowly. He didn't need to mention why this was true because the bullet holes in Joost's care were physical proof. Roan had a gun and he wasn't afraid to use it.

'Then we should leave him to it,' Daan suggested.

'No,' Joost spoke up for the first time and the group looked to him in surprise. He stared down at the road, his eyes absent and unseeing.

'Acid's dangerous. Dim and dangerous don't mix. He knows what he's doing.'

Craning his head to look over the Impreza's roof, Joost caught the moment Roan grabbed Elke's face for a kiss. The Klein pushed aside the sting in his chest and dismissed his anger at seeing how Elke recoiled at Roan's intense grip. She managed a smile but even from where Joost stood, he could see it had no love in it.

Joost couldn't care less about who Roan was involved with. What he did care about was how close he brought Nathan to his apartment and how Elke was already involved by association. 

If Roan didn't care about Elke's safety, then Joost was going to care enough for the two of them.