DREXEL GENESIS

"Okay kid, time to close up now," Uncle Danny's voice drifts into my ears.

I slide myself out from under the car with a grunt. "It's six already?" I wonder out loud. I place the wrench on the shelf nearby and wipe my greasy hands on a cloth. I make my way toward the office and see Uncle Danny's butt peeking out from under the desk.

"Uncle Danny? Sir?" I call out. I grimace when he hits his head on the desk with a painful grunt. "Are you alright?" I ask and move closer to the ageing man.

Holding his head between his hands, he shakes his head no and says, "There was a brown envelope sitting here somewhere. I can't seem to find it."

In the dimly lit room, my gaze wanders around taking in the chaotic scene before me. A sea of papers and documents blanketed the tables and chairs, and pens and pencils were scattered on the floor like fallen soldiers. The shelves looked like they were barely holding the weight of the numerous oil cans, toolboxes, and paint cans stacked haphazardly. Every inch of the room seemed to be stained with various hues of paint, giving the impression that it had been a while since any cleaning had been done. It was no surprise that he was struggling to find anything in this mess.

The distressed man continues to crawl like a five-legged spider on the floor trying to look under the shelves. I suppress my laugh at the sight and decide to help him search for the envelope.

"I've found it Boss-" Archer barges in, waving a brown envelope in the air, cutting himself off when he sees our boss hugging the floor. Unlike me, he immediately bursts out laughing which in turn makes me laugh too.

The man gets up with cobwebs entangled in his moustache, his eyes lighting up as he sees the envelope.

"Oh thank the heavens!" He takes it from Archer's grasp and hurriedly goes back to his desk.

"How about you thank me," Archer mumbles half-heartedly.

"Everything is alright now kids. I have to fill in these documents before I close up. Go back home now. Archer, you've got a paint job tomorrow," Uncle Danny says while skimming his pen along the papers. "You got it, boss. I'll be there," Archer says with a salute and we wish Uncle Danny a good night and head out of the garage towards my car that was parked behind the shop.

'Oil 'em up!' – Yes, that is the name of our workplace, we just call it The Garage- is a mechanic shop both Archer and I worked at after school or on weekends. I maintain and repair the engines of the cars, while Archer expertly revives the faded paint and gives them a vibrant new look. His spray job is unmatched and even my own car is a testament to his skills. It's not a secret to our boss that we're street racers, as some of our colleagues also participate in the races. After all, it was he who connected us with Terry in the first place.

"You coming to my place today, Arch?" I ask him while unlocking my Ford Mustang.

"I stayed away too long. I have to face the music someday. Might as well be today," he sighs getting into the car.

"...If you're sure," I say unsurely and start the car.

"I'll be fine, Drex. Don't worry," he assures. "By the way, when's your next race?"

"Terry didn't text me yet. I hope it's soon though," I reply and look at Archer from the corner of my eyes. "Why, do you want to race?"

"If I'm in the mood," he answers looking out the window.

Archer races or swims if he wants to let off steam or if he is 'in the mood'. He hopes to win a swimming scholarship to go to college but he also saves the money he wins from racing and the garage in case it won't work. He was a guy who has a backup plan for a backup plan.

For me, however, racing is my passion and love, although I need the money I win to provide for my family. If I could, I would've liked to race professionally in the future instead of illegally, but eh, life happens.

I release a tired sigh and stop the car in front of Archer's house. Both of us stare at the almost lifeless house for a while. "I'm going in then," Archer announces as if he just declared that he was going off to war.

"Archer, if anything happens, I mean anything, you come to my house or you call me so I can come to yours, okay? You have my spare key, right? You have to-"

"Alright, alright, Drex. I have your keys and I'll call you if I'm alive," Archer says with a laugh while getting down with his bag.

"I'm serious, Arch!" I say sternly.

"Sure Dad," he chuckles and waves goodbye at me. I return the wave and wait until he gets inside the house. As I drive out of the driveway, my phone rings indicating that my sister, Rowan, was calling me. "Hey, sis-"

"I sent you a grocery list. You better get the apples!" She says and hangs up even before I can get any word in. I sport a tight smile on my face and grip my phone, knowing my devil sister hung up quickly on purpose so as to not hear any complaints and whines from me.

Her obsession with apples was disgusting.

After a few minutes, I stop at the supermarket and grab a trolley. I head toward the fruit aisle while taking my phone out and rolling my eyes at the absurdity of the long grocery list Rowan had sent me earlier. I mentally erase half of the unwanted items on the list, like- why ask me to buy lip gloss and nail polish and all that glittery stuff when she would hoard me for buying the wrong brands anyway? I doubt I could tell their difference anyway.

Placing a few fruits in the trolley, I scan the shelves for apples. I immediately find one last apple sitting in all its glory, shining red and bright, waiting expectantly. She should be happy with at least one apple. Yeah, that would do.

I quickly stride towards it and reach for the apple. At the same time I clasp my hand around the fruit, another hand encloses it, our fingers almost intertwining with each other.

I turn my head to look at the owner of the soft hand that pulses against mine. We hold eye contact for a while before I abruptly pull the apple towards me. But she doesn't let go and pulls the apple back.

Finally, it becomes a game of tug of war.

"Give it back, Scarlet."

"It's Crimson," she seethes and pulls the apple with surprising strength. "I saw it first!"

"I touched it first!" I say and grab the fruit.

Crimson had become good friends with my sister and Ayla these past five days since she first joined the school. I had also teased her by calling her 'Scarlet' multiple times when we passed each other in the hallways. Her reactions have never failed to entertain me (which includes her almost bringing up her hand to slap me before remembering where she was and that she was a new girl) and I could say that she had gotten quite comfortable with us, the boys too.

But there was something about her that intrigued me. Hmm, maybe I should take this chance to find out why this redhead bemused me.

But this apple was mine. I could almost feel the long claws of Rowan raking through my skull as she yelled and shouted, yelling at me for not buying her dear apples.

Too invested in our squabble, I give my all and pull the innocent fruit which results in Crimson falling onto my arms with a yelp.

The apple slips from my fingers and tumbles to the ground as I instinctively reach out to catch her, my arms wrapping around her body to cushion her fall. I feel the fabric of my shirt bunched up under her grasp as her head comes to rest against my chest. Our hearts pound in unison, and I can feel the heat emanating from her body. As she lifts her head and meets my gaze, I'm struck by her honey-brown eyes, and my grip on her tightens almost imperceptibly as my breath catches in my throat.

We were literally hugging each other in the middle of the supermarket.

Crimson clears her throat and whispers, "Drexel."

I wordlessly stare at her. She has beautiful facial features and-

She urgently taps on my arm and looks over my shoulder. "Hey, Drexel! Look..."

I blink. "Huh?"

Crimson points at something behind me and says, "That woman is suspicious."

I slowly turn my head back and look to see a woman with long curly hair and a shockingly popping bosom. I narrow my eyes as she slowly takes a pear and tucks it inside her handbag.

Crimson steps out from our embrace causing an inexpressible dip in my stomach much to my confusion and places her hands on my trolley.

"Crimson, what are you doing?" I ask in uncertainty.

"We have to get the salesperson's attention over there," she replies. Just as she said, there was a worker who was engrossed in his task of stocking some watermelons on the shelf. The thief-woman was between us, still cautiously tucking some pears away.

I watch in disbelief as Crimson pushes the trolley with a little too much force and she muffles her mouth with an "oops!" as it rushes through the aisle.

The trolley grazes the back of the woman and we watch in horror as her hair gets entangled in the cart.

It continues its journey with the hair on board and it successfully hits the leg of the salesman.

"It's a wig!" I exclaim in surprise.

The now hairless woman jumps back in shock at the loss and feels her scalp with panic. Her chest jiggles and out jumps two plump oranges from her chest and onto the floor.

"It's...it's a man!" sputters Crimson shaking my arm.

The thief tries to make a dash for it but I block his path quickly. It finally catches the attention of the salesman who screeches, "Hey, you! Get back here you thief! SECURITY!!"

The man clutches the handbag and shoves me, making me fall onto the floor painfully. Crimson hurries towards my side and helps me up. "Are you okay?" Well, that was embarrassing. I warily give her a thumbs up, my back throbbing from the fall. By now, this spectacle had gained the attention of the other customers and workers.

"He is getting away!"

"Somebody catch him!"

"Where the hell is the damn security?"

"I think I saw him sleeping in!"

Amidst the chaos, Crimson suddenly snatches my fallen apple from the floor. "Hey! That's mine!" I protest. But she ignores me and aims it right at the sprinting thief's head. He stumbles and falls right into a nicely stacked pyramid of sanitary napkin packets. My jaw drops and I watch in astonishment as the guards come running and carry the struggling thief away. 

"That was a bullseye! How did you do that?" I shriek in wonder.

"Uhm, a lucky shot I guess. I didn't think it would work," Crimson murmurs.

A worker rushes toward Crimson and takes both of her hands, "Thank you so much, Miss, we are so sorry for the trouble-"

"No, sir. It's fine. No worries," she cuts him off and takes her hands back with a toothy smile. She makes an embarrassed face as she quickly nears me making me laugh quietly.

"I'm almost done with the groceries. What about you?" I nod and take hold of my abandoned trolley and we both proceed to check out swiftly without any other disguised people interrupting us.

We come out of the supermarket with our groceries and I walk Crimson to her car. I help her unload her groceries and she thanks me with a grateful smile.

"Well, that was an eventful," I comment.

"Yeah," she agrees with a frown and then laughs, "The poor apple. In the end, none of us got it."

I laugh along with her and the way her body entangled with mine clouds my mind. Her warmth is still imprinted on my skin. My mind clouds with confusion before I clear my throat and will my mind to focus with a shake of my head.

"Thanks for today," she says nodding her head towards her loaded groceries. "I'll see you on Monday then?"

"Okay, drive safely. See you, Scarlet," I wave with a grin.

She narrows her eyes. "I told you, it's Crimson!"

"So you say," I say teasingly.

She rolls her eyes and gets in her car. "You are impossible," she laughs softly. "You'll forget my real name eventually if you keep calling me other names. See you, Drexel."

I wait until she leaves, carrying my own groceries and heading towards my car after she disappears into the distance.

Before getting in, I stand by my car for a moment, gazing in the direction Crimson drove off. 

How could I possibly forget your name, when I finally understand why you probably intrigue me?

Hello fellow readers,

Feeling very depressed, sad and heartbroken because as I write this, AOT final season's last episode is premiering and I am NOT ready to watch this legendary masterpiece end.

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

So heartbreaking and I have no words to express it. My GOAT of all time for sure.

EDIT AFTER WATCHING TT TT; Heartbroken, sad, depressed, eyes are puffed up, tearing up whenever I see a related post about all because of Attack On Titan last episode that was premiered. I've never cried that hard in my life.

Shinzou wo sasageyo!🫡🥹

EDIT bcoz my fangirling made me forget ; LOL please tell me what you thought of this chapter and about their interaction! Thank you!

Vote and comment, please!