THE CITY LIGHTS WERE ALL THAT FLICKERED, that and all the street car's neon glow. The racers had already lined up, Aracely right behind them revving her engine.

"You ready for it pretty boy?" Aracely banged on the roof of her car, showing off how her Supra sounded, "Don't forget me Dom, you'll see me in a second or two!"

"What about us?" Hector leaned out of his car, looking back at the girl who had her hands on the wheel, "Don't stare too long, you'll miss the gun!"

And there it was, the start of the race. The five cars rocketed forward, tires screeching in the pavement. It took Aracely 2 seconds, one more than she thought, to weave through the cars — especially since Brian's start wobbled.

She gripped the wheel tightly, a laser-focus on the road neither Hector or Edwin had. Just Dom. His car roared as he shifted gears, the two accelerating toe-to-toe.

"Eat that Toretto!" Aracely giggled, expertly manoeuvring through the traffic with her intuition as the driver. Dom seemed to be enjoying the drive, "It ain't so easy, kid."

The street lights turned into a mere blur, Aracely and Dom neck and neck. But they shouldn't have counted Brian out so easily, not just yet.

Spectators continued to line the streets, their cheers blending with the roaring engines where Brian was high-tailing it down to the real competition.

Aracely's eyes burned with a fierce determination, her jaw clenched so tightly it started to hurt. She refused to let either take lead, her fingers dancing over the gearshift as she pushed her precious car to its limits.

"I'm getting an Eclipse! I'm getting an Eclipse!" She cheered herself on, the two boys seemingly caught in their own tension trying to catch up to her.

Then it all blew away, Brian's final kick of NOS just enough to send him over Aracely. Or so he thought, his car spinning out from the damage it'd took on during the race.

There it was again, Aracely and Dom. The finish line came into view, marked out by the row of bright headlights and spectators. They were neck and neck as their engines roared in a symphony of power.

Dom was unbothered, Aracely starting to feel the weight of her car despite her inches from a possible victory. She saw it, it was so close. Aracely tapped into her reserves, trying to summon every last ounce of power she could to get her over the line.

But the crowd cheered as the cars hurled to the line, Dom's car narrowly beating Aracely's.

"Fuck!" Aracely yelled, smacking her wheel as she spun her car.

Dom was cheering the second he got out of his car, glancing over at Aracely with pure respect, "You did give me a good run for my money, kid."

"A win's a win," she pouted, "I'll try not to sulk about this one."

Brian had driven up to the rest of them, the boy with an unmissable smile that confused Dom.

"I almost had ya!"

"You almost had me?" Dom pointed, "You never had me. You never had your car... Granny shifting, not double clutching like you should."

Aracely leaned into the hood with Jesse to observe, "You're lucky that 100 shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake."

"But it got me past you, didn't it?" Brian teased, the girl locking eyes with him, "And then it spun you out... didn't it?"

"Almost had me?" Dom kept hollering, "Now me and my mad scientists gotta rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried."

"Nicely done, by the way, blondie," Aracely hummed, turning to lean on the car. Dom watched as Brian kept glancing at the girl, "You were about as close to me as you are to getting with Cely."

Aracely faked a pout, "Wrong. Tiene unos hermosos ojos azul y es guapo."

"Thankyou?" Brian tilted his head, a blurred look of confusion sprawled across his face. Aracely shrugged at Dom's eye roll, "But no, yeah, he's right. You weren't close."

Dom revelled in the cheers of the crowd, "But let's be real... Ask any racer, a real one. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile... Winning's winning."

He shot a look at Aracely, "Take it from her. Always so close."

"Let me take all the weight off my baby and I'll have you crying," Aracely flipped her friend off, sultry eyes landing on Brian who couldn't hide a grin. She blew a kiss, Jesse interrupting as he yelled out, "Cops! Cops!"

——

THE SOUND OF SCREECHING TIRES and roaring engines once again filled the air but by a multitude as street cars started to tear through the streets, fleeing. Aracely felt adrenaline at the flicker of police lights pursuing her, an intense chase on her hands as she drifted recklessly; like it was a game.

She had outrun them fast, it almost seemed like they were on a mission for someone else. Aracely would've turned in for the night to the Toretto's but she saw Dom's car fly inside the warehouse not too far from her. Was it bad she liked the challenge of collecting a wild Dom?

She charged through a labyrinth of cars, expertly dodging obstacles that came her way as she saw a police car corner to him. For once, Aracely wasn't quite fast enough; Brian's car being the one to pick him up.

Aracely stayed on the boys though, all of their tires screeching as cops attempted to circle them. It seemed like Brian and Aracely had the same idea, the two charging outward and losing the police.

"Godamn, I'm a good driver," She hummed, too early... She started to honk the second she realised Brian was headed close to Johnny Tran's side but the all too familiar motorcycles had surrounded them all.

With guns, the motorcycles directed the three to the man himself.

— cloudydior
aracely is my bae