My breathing pace was at its maximum.

Every single breath could be heard miles away. I looked out the open window of the run-down car, my brothers didn't know I kept stored away in an abandoned shed a few blocks walking distance from the dirt track our whole side of town used every Friday night for races.

I could see my best friend, Janie Foster, who I- and every other person who resided in the shady side of Downtown Miami- called her 'Sly'. That was her given nickname, for she's a pickpocket, and one of the best around I may add. One time, she stole all of my brothers' beer money, and they had no idea until they made it to the liquor store, and couldn't pay for their twenty cases of beer. Janie held the newly bought timer in her hand, about to push start as I stepped on the gas, and took off down n' around the dusty track.

Girls weren't allowed to street race here. That I found disgusting, because I could easily beat any of the guys who raced every Friday with no cheating, and no rule changes. That's why I'm forced to come to the track every Friday afternoon around four pm, because that's when I get off work, and the usual crowd doesn't get here till about six o'clock. This way, nobody will catch me, and I wont get in trouble with my older brothers, who just happen to run the races, and control the rest of our people around here.

"You ready?" Janie called out, me nodding as I started the engine, and teased her as I stepped on the gas a couple times, not being able to move because my car was in park. "Ready....Set....Go!"

Upon her commanded, I put the car into drive, and slammed my right foot down on the gas. The car shot forwarded with undeniable speed. I focused on the track in front of me, making sure that I hit every turn, curve, and road change there was, properly. A large smile appeared on my face, and I let out a wild cheer. My pale, blonde hair flew back like a wind of six-hundred miles per hour had hit it.

Racing was one of the few things that made me feel reckless, and exciting. Even though I have a large quantity of freedom back at home, I'm never able to be so carless and exhilarating. My brothers always make sure I'm as safe as I can be while I do the same very things they do. They don't care that I drink, smoke, or get as many tattoo's as I want, but they make sure I'm as careful as can be when doing all. Unless it comes to drugs, Sean made sure I had absolutely nothing to do with those.

As I came to the end of my first lap around, I could hear Janie's loud cheering. She's the only one who supports my once-a-week trips to the track to race in secret. Her, and Babee Long, who's rarely here as it is.

Babee Long is known as 'Bliss'. She races secretly just like me, but she's a hell of a lot better. They call her Bliss, because she does whatever she feels like doing, blissfully. She's great at practically everything, including seducing every male she comes into contact with. I could see how as well. She's gorgeous, reckless, and just an exciting person. Who couldn't fall in love with her fun aura, and bouncy pink curls?

If it weren't for Bliss, I wouldn't know the first thing about racing. Being two years older than me, and resting at the age of twenty years old, she took me under her wing when she was seventeen, and taught me how to race. I wasn't able to learn everything, because once she turned eighteen, Bliss left our side of Miami. She was gone for about a year, before returning back to us for a few days. Then, she was off again, occasionally returning to say her hello's, spend time with me, and continue her on and off romance with my second oldest brother, Wesley. He's how I met Bliss when I was fifteen. He brought her home once, and me and her just clicked. Of course, he ended up upset with me for a full week, because I 'stole her' from him. I later resolved that conflict by paying for a case of his favorite beer (which was really expensive).

Janie and I would only race two laps a person. She would always go first with two, and I would always end the Friday afternoon with two myself. Janie was just a beginner, so I would guide her, and teach her a bit each week, while she would time my two, and keep track of my best time.

As I grew closer to Janie during my second lap, I slammed my foot on the brakes after passing the finish line, and hearing Janie scream once she pushed stop on the stopwatch. When my car came to a complete stop, I climbed out of the car window, and landed back on the ground on both feet. Janie charged towards me.

"Nice job, Tip." She smirked, "I think this is your best time."

I chuckled a bit, "You say that every week." I ruffled my fingers through my hair, fixing the wild mess it had become due to the fast speed my car went in. I had to make it look normal, because if my brother's saw the mess, they'd question me- and I can't afford them finding out right now.

"Exactly one minute, n' fifty seven seconds." She nodded her head in approval, but I frowned, "What's that face for?"

"Slasher could easily do two laps in one minute, and twenty seconds, Sly." I complained, groaning as I thought of my oldest brother Sean, who currently was the highest ranked when it came to street racing in Miami.

"Aye, who cares about how fast your brother can go. You're a special case being a girl, y' know?" Sly tried to cheer me up, but it just wasn't going to help. I was proud of myself for knocking four seconds off last week's time, but I still wanted to be the best. I know I may never get to race in an actual race, but maybe if I can prove I'm just as good as my oldest brother, I could get girls to be able to race.

"Yea, I guess you're right." I looked up at the sun which was in the opposite direction of where it was at four o'clock. I widened my eyes, and alarmingly turned back to Janie, "Sly, what time is it?"

She examined her watch, and began to laugh uncontrollably, "It's about five fifteen!" I joined her for a moment before we both hopped back in to my old car.

"Damn, today's been a close one. People start arriving in about fifteen minutes." I giggled, starting the engine, and driving off towards the abandoned shed in a normal speed.

"We better get you home girly, or your brother will come after me for keeping you out for so long." Sly joked, causing me to laugh along with her. She blasted the radio, and jammed out the whole five minutes to my car's hiding place.

❁❁❁

"Tip, where ya' been." Sean questioned as I walked through the front door of our small, trashy cottage. I looked around to see all three of my brother's and most of their friends in our living room, which was located right by the front door. There was Sean, Wesley and Ricky of course, along with their buds. Sean was standing next to Dime, also known as William King. They were both twenty-one, and supplied all the liquor for us "kids" as they would say.

William King was extremely attractive, just like all of the guys my brothers hung around. His jawline was sharp, and his eyes were a bright blue. He was blessed with average brown hair that he left messy on the top of his head, causing his curls to be all over the place. His chest was large, and his tight white fitting t-shirt left a small revelation of his toned six-pack of abs. He was taller then most being around six foot one. We call him 'Dime' because when he was younger, he would always hassle rich kids for their dimes, so he could go buy a cherry pop soda down at our local corner store. Now, he works there during the mornings, and gets unlimited soda's.

Across the room, laying on the couch was my second oldest brother Wesley. Next to him on the couch, was his best friend, Steve Rype, who we called 'Scram'.

Steve Rype was only twenty years old, but he did look much older. He had the face of a father, but a million times hotter. Scram was six foot two, with a toned body just like the rest of them. His jawline was one of the sharpest, which made the others mad, for they would always have a competition on who's jawline was the sharpest. Every time that contest was held, a different male would win. I don't see how that's possible, but I can never keep up with these boys.

He had brown hair as well, but it was much lighter causing most people to mistake it for blonde. His eyes were a dark chocolate, that every time I looked into them, I would think of the brown lab 'Racer' we used to have growing up. He always left a bit of scruff on his face, which is probably why he looked older than what he was, but unlike most males, he was definitely one who could pull it off. Scram got his nickname from how he used to scare the kids his age off the playground when he was seven. As I've said, he looked taller, and older than what the normal seven year olds were. Wesley used to say things like 'He made those kids scram!" so we ended up calling him Scram.

And last but not least, was my twin brother Ricky, and his close pal Sloan Granger, who we called Steel.

Sloan had such a baby face. He tried to pull off scruff like Scram as well, but never could. He just ended up looking like a nineteen year old baby who happened to have a little bit of hair on his chin. Sloan still needed to grow up a lot in looks, but that doesn't mean he wasn't good looking. He was actually very hot, and maybe my first kiss...

Steel was oddly taller than most of them, being six foot three. How, I have no idea, for he looked so young, but only Sean Scott, my oldest brother was taller than him. Steel had brown hair similar to Dime's, and brown eyes just a tad bit lighter than Scram's. His jawline was just as sharp as the other two's, and his body was barely toned, but he works out every day being a personal trainer at our shitty gym a few blocks away, so he'll get there eventually.

"Sly and I were just at the grill." I glanced at all of the boys who were staring directly at me, "We lost track of time, sorry." I threw my leather coat down on the chair closest to me. Sean eye-d me carefully, before nodding in acceptance.

"You know I like you home by five on race nights." He repeated, just like he always does when I return home on Friday afternoon's like these.

"Won't happen again." I lied, for I usually came home later than five. Sean never really noticed enough to do anything about it though. He would just give me the same line every time, and it was the 'You know I like you home by five on race nights' line.

"Speaking of late kids," Wesley began, "Where the hell is Ripper?"

"He probably got held up at the car shop again." Dime responded.

"Or he got busted by the cops again." All of the boys laughed, only because Ripper would always get busted on assumptions. If a rich lady saw him walking down her street- only because he had to for the only way to get to the shop where he worked at was down 'Lime Street' which was home to some of the richest in Miami- she would call 911 saying someone was trying to rob her. Ripper was never planning to rob anyone, but because those rich folks hated who we were, they would always look for a way to get rid of us. Usually the cops hold him for a few hours, running past five o'clock. It's funny, because nothing happens to him except for loss of a day's pay, and half his time wasted.

"Oh police, please help me! Some washed up street rat's try'na rob me of my millions." Steel mocked, trying to act like Mrs. Hornfield, who would always yell at us if we passed her driveway on our way to see Ripper, and she was out watering her flowers.

"Someone ought'a run over her flower beds." Muttered Ricky, causing the boys to laugh once more and slap each other on the back, but they all stopped once the backdoor slammed shut, and loud footsteps could be heard coming towards us. The kitchen, swinging door flew open, and in walked Nathan Kid, a.k.a, Ripper.

Ripper was a six foot one God. To me, he was by far the most attractive out of all of them. His skin was tattooed from head to toe, but his tattoo's were symbolic to events in his lifetime, and actually meant something to him unlike the tattoo's on other people. His hair was shaved on the bottom of his head, but long everywhere else. It always fell neatly on his head, unless he had just woken up, which my eyes have been blessed with that sight, for he always spends the night here.... just like most of them do. His hair was a mild brown as well, but his eyes were a piercing blue. A dark, yet piercing blue.

His nickname was given to him when he started to street race. He's easily the best racer around, but he always lets Sean beat him. Nobody really understood why, but chose to ignore it. We call him Ripper, because after every race he's in, his car is trashed. The sides are scratched up, tires with tears in them, and parts missing. He used to spend all the other days fixing it up in his free time, which is why he ended up getting a job a car shop.

"And the man of the hour has arrived." Sean walked over and high-fived him as the boys cheered, and hollered 'Ripp-er! Ripp-er!" as a joke they normally played. Nathan smiled and laughed along with them, taking Ricky into a head lock when he went to slap his back.

"Cops again." Ripper smirked, as Steel went around yelling 'I called it fuckers, I called it!'.

"Sit down baby face." Wesley shouted, tackling his best friend down on to the couch. I stood by the door awkwardly just like I have been doing the whole time. I watched Ripper as he goofed around with his buds, and questioned how he would always act so cold towards me. Startling me, his eyes met mine for a short second, before he quickly averted his gaze to Sean who was tossing everyone their car keys.

"Who's ready to rumble!" Sean shouted, causing all of them to jump up and down, and get all fired up as they howled like a pack of wild wolves.

"Who's racin'" Wesley asked, catching his racing car's keys with one hand, and continuing to wrestle Steel in the other.

Sean smirked, "The crusty folks from Tampa are coming tonight." All of the boys laughed- including me this time. The Tampa gang sucked when it came to street racing, but they paid well, so it was an easy way to get more money, "First race is Ripper against Boy Sid, second is Me against Finn Donague, third we have Dime battelin' Shawn Gregs, and last is Scram fightin' against Tom Grublin."

"Easy win." Scram shrugged his shoulders, and the boys erupted in laughter again.

"It'll be n' easy win for all of us." Sean sighed, putting his jacket on, "So, let's roll out!." And with that, everyone piled out of the small house, and into either Sean's, Ripper's, Dime's, or Scram's racing car. Ricky hopped in with Ripper, Wesley went with Sean, Steel went with Dime, and I sat my little ass down in Scram's blazing red car.

"Tip, my girl!." He exclaimed, pulling out of the crowded driveway after Sean, and following him to the track with Ripper and Dime following behind him, "How you been, kiddo."

I rolled my eyes at his undeniable want to call me 'kiddo', and watched the sky as It grew darker by the minute, only being able to see it from a blur.

❁❁❁

Hey, so this is chapter one, and it's most likely going to be the longest, or one of the longest. It's that common chapter that's meant to introduce most of the characters, the setting, and all the information parts you need to understand the book. Sorry if the length was an inconvenience to you at all xxx

So, how do you like it so far though? Like the common idea and setting like that. I know this chapter might have been boring, but I really tried to make it as interesting as I possibly could.

But let's be honest here, all the guys in this story are so hot, especially Stephen James who plays Nathan (Ripper) Kid. AHHH HE'S GORGEOUS AND MM I WANT HIM.

Anyways, please continue reading, and vote for this chapter/ comment on it!

Also, don't forget to follow me, so you can stay updated, and connected to this story. I'll be posting a lot of important info under my conversations section, and notifying my followers for it. If you're not following me you could miss something important and crucial to the story xoxo

Continue for chapter two.

Song: Lovers Drug (Synthstrumental Remix) by The Hearts