♕Harley Anderson♕

When I'm done with my shift, Cameron and I hit the road to the track despite it still being rather early. The ride is pleasant- quiet but peaceful- and allows me to think things through over the last few hours. By the time we arrive at the track, my mind is sore from thinking  but the excitement from being at the track again makes me forget that.

I'm surprised to see the amount of people at the track already but Cameron isn't fazed at all, allowing me to see that it isn't anything unusual. He parks his car inside and climbs out before I do the same. I follow him as we walk inside the building but I don't miss the stares that are casted my way.

The room we enter is a bar and it's not nearly as empty as it should be for this time of the evening. The red lights and dark furniture makes me gaze around in awe before I notice the various kinds of people sitting on the chairs.

"So this is the bar?" I ask Cameron and he nods, leading me by the small of my back.

"Yep. This is where all the racers come to get drunk."

"Including you?" I ask cheekily and he scoffs.

"No, not me."

I smile at his response. He leads us to a guy sitting at the bar, his hands lifting a glass of whiskey up to his mouth, who is beside another guy with strikingly white hair.

"Mason." Cameron greets, slapping a hand on the guy before returning his attention to the other guy. "Ryan."

I recognize both of them as being Cameron's friends I met one time I came to watch him race and I narrow my eyes at the guy with the name of Ryan. He seemed to be quite flirtatious and suggestive.

"Cam." Mason returns the greeting, standing up to give Cameron a hug. Ryan simply nods his head in response. Mason's eyes then stray to me and I take note of his attractiveness. He almost gives me the 'boy-next-door' kind of vibe.

"Harley right?" He asks with a quirk of his lips and I nod with a smile.

"Bingo."

Mason grins at me. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise," I respond. Before our conversation can continue any further, a familiar short stocky man exits out of another room, a phone pressed to his ear before he scowls and cuts the call. He slips the device into his pockets and when his eyes land on Cameron they light up.

"Ah! Cameron!" He exclaims and Cameron looks over at him with a smile.

"Emery." He nods and the man who is shockingly intimidating for his height glances at me, his eyes lighting up in curiosity. His eyes slide back to Cameron.

"This is Harley." Cameron introduces me and Emery glances at him for a little longer before smiling at me.

"It's lovely to meet you." He nods and I smile.

"You have a lovely track here." I comment honestly and he chuckles.

"Do you race?" He inquires and I shake my head before Cameron answers for me.

"Not yet."

Emery nods in understanding. "Are you going to watch the race tonight?"

I nod. "Definitely. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The man smiles at me, the wrinkles from years of stress making an appearance. "Cameron doesn't usually introduce me to anyone so I'm taking it that you're a rather special person. Therefore, a friend of Cameron's is a friend of mine- you're welcome here anytime Harley."

The first part of his statement makes me blush slightly but also sends butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. Is it true? Does Cameron consider me someone special enough to introduce me to the owner of the track? I do not ponder over it for much longer when Cameron turns to me.

"I need to speak to Emery in his office. Do you mind waiting here with Mason?" He asks and I shake my head. Mason seems like a pretty nice guy and I can definitely say I don't feel too uncomfortable around him. Cameron's other friend, Ryan, is a different story though.

Cameron smiles at me before patting Mason on the back, gaining his attention. "Keep an eye on Harley would you?"

Mason nods before smiling at me and Cameron stalks off, following Emery. I take an empty seat next to Mason and slip my hands into my pockets awkwardly.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asks and I shake my head.

"You in college?" Mason goes on to ask me in an attempt to start a conversation, his eyes twinkling in the process.

"Yep- the same one as Cameron."

"Ah," he nods "what are you studying?"

"Literature." I respond and his eyebrows raise in surprise.

"I'm sure it must be enjoyable if you love it."

I laugh, "I do."

"Oh come on man." Ryan, the boy with almost completely white hair pipes up. "Ask her something interesting- like if she prefers it rough or gentle."

"Back off man. Cameron will be pissed if you don't lay off of her." Mason defends me and I find myself growing uneasy at how disrespectful Ryan is. Does he not have any respect for women?

He rolls his eyes at Mason just as another boy comes up behind him, greeting Ryan and Mason before sitting down. When his eyes slide over to me, they light up.

"What's your name?" He asks smoothly and Ryan rolls his eyes, letting out a scoff.

"Don't even try bro. She's with Cameron." Ryan snickers, taking a sip of his beer. The boy's eyes widen in surprise and I frown, feeling uncomfortable at how they talk about me as if I'm not even here.

"For real?" He almost splutters and Mason nods. The boy laughs, his green eyes alight in amusement. "Well the oak better start making it known. People are beginning to stare." His eyes slide back to me and he stares at me suggestively. I let out an aggravated sigh.

"Fuck off Johnathan. You know Cameron doesn't like everyone up in his business." Mason warns and the boy- Johnathan- holds his hands up in surrender.

"Besides, it's not like she'd get with you rather than me." Ryan states smugly before looking at me suggestively. "Isn't that right sweetcheeks?"

I roll my eyes. "I prefer guys that don't have a Napoleon Complex," I mutter to myself. However, I obviously don't say it as soft as I thought I did when I hear Mason snort and Johnathan laugh just as Ryan narrows his eyes at me threateningly.

"What did you just say?" He grunts, his hands gripping his glass of whiskey tighter, and I cock my head to the side.

This guy really is one hell of a dick.

"Oh? Now you can't talk huh?" He asks and I scoff despite my nervousness. He stands up and Mason does too, blocking him off from me as he glares dangerously.

"Chill bro." Mason warns and Ryan scoffs, looking at Mason with cold blue eyes.

"I ain't going to let some bitch come here and talk shi-"

"Excuse me? How dare you call me that!" I hiss, feeling anger bubble up inside of me. Who the hell does this guy think he is calling me a bitch? "You are such an asshole!" I hiss loudly. Before I can even register it, Ryan is up in my face, pushing me against the bar counter. The smell of tobacco invades my senses and I hold back a gag. He looks down at me degradingly before scowling at me. The asshole's chest is right against mine and I lift my hand to try and push him away. However, he grabs my wrist tightly, it beginning to throb, and fear begins to curl its way inside my stomach as I look up at the boy. I feel myself cower slightly as memories are brought back to me that I definitely do not want to remember. Mason tries and talks Ryan to calm down but I can't focus with the ringing in my ears, the invasion of my personal space, the scent of tobacco and this asshole gripping my wrist so tightly while unwanted memories of my father enter my mind.

That is until Ryan is ripped off of me suddenly. I take in a sharp at breath at fresh air before looking at Cameron who is standing between the both of us. Ryan stumbles backwards.

"What the fuck man?" Cameron shouts at Ryan and he scowls.

"Your little bitch-"

Cameron is gripping Ryan's shirt in seconds while I try shrink into myself.

"Firstly, don't ever call her that again." Cameron growls "And secondly, don't you ever- and I mean ever- lay a hand on her again." Cameron warns, his voice low, icy and dangerous. I've never heard it before and it makes me shiver. He lets go of Ryan before turning around to me. His features soften and he comes to lift my arm up to observe my wrist that is slowly turning blue. His eyes darken considerably and I can almost sense his anger radiating off of him. He's about to turn around, no doubt to give Ryan a beating, when I grip his large arm. He freezes, looking back at me.

"Don't Cameron." I say softly. "Leave it." I almost plead. Even though I don't like Ryan and he deserves a taste of his own medicine- I don't want to see it. I've seen enough violence to last a life time and I don't need to add anymore memories to it. Cameron clenches his jaw painfully tight and nods, gripping my hand before grabbing a bag of ice out of the freezer behind the bar table and leading us outside.

I feel myself trembling slightly and I know that Cameron can feel it too when he tightens his grip on my hand. We don't say anything but when we reach his car, he turns me around and lifts my wrist up. He hisses lowly at the discoloration and presses the ice-bag to it. Seeing him so worked up over someone hurting me stirs something strange inside of me- the last person to care like this was Cyrus.

"I'm fine." I lie, trying to reassure him but he doesn't answer me. "Cameron..."

"I'm going to kill him." He growls and my eyes widen.

"No you're not," I say sternly and his eyes finally meet mine.

"You can't expect me to just leave this. Hurting you is not okay."

I sigh, despite the warmth that wraps around me, and don't answer him. He silently puts the ice to my wrist and I subtly enjoy the feeling of someone caring for me.

"What exactly did you say to Ryan?" Cameron eventually pops up and I purse my lips.

"I just mentioned something about a Napoleon Complex and him being an asshole..." I mumble and Cameron's lips quirk up in amusement.

"Well there's no lie there is there?" He asks and I laugh before he sobers up.

"But really... I'm sorry for what he did. He's an asshole who thinks too highly of himself." Cameron says angrily and I give him a small smile.

"Thank you for defending me." I say and looks up at me intently before putting the ice bag on top of his car.

"Come on. I want to show you something."

I get up from off the car and follow him. We round the building to see a few garage doors and I frown. The building isn't small but it's definitely deceiving- it's much larger then you think. Cameron nods at a bouncer that leans against the wall with a cigarette in his hand and I frown. Cameron walks up to the garage door on the very end and pulls out a set of keys, unlocking it. I watch what he does and when he pushes it up, I'm left speechless. He presses numbers into a pad on the wall, disconnecting what I assume is an alarm.

He walks onto the shiny linoleum floor, it squeaking underneath his boots and I follow after, my eyes wide in awe and my mouth agape. The smell of leather and tires is in the air and I find myself sighing in content. In front of me is about a dozen cars, ranging from vintage to modern, old to new, manual to automatic. They're in immaculate condition, the paint on the sides shining brightly from the LED lights hanging from the ceiling above us. All the tires look brand new and none of the cars have a single scratch or dent present. I step forward and run my hands along a white 1968 Corvette before stopping in front of a red 488 Ferrari, the paint almost winking at me.

I look up to Cameron in a daze. "Are these all yours?" I mumble and he smiles, looking at the beauties in pride.

"Yep- these are all the ones I use for racing." He says and I let out a laugh of disbelief.

"This is so incredible." I whisper, running my hands along the tires of a blue Chevrolet Camaro.

"The size of the engine?" I ask and Cameron folds his arms over his chest.

"Six point two liters."

I let out a low whistle and shake my head, my face breaking out into a wide smile. This is heaven on earth for sure.

"This is amazing Cameron. I'm speechless." I say, slipping my hands into my back pockets. I was wondering where he kept all his cars although now it makes sense. He smiles at me and I walk towards him; standing in front of his gaze. As much as his cars amaze me and make me so undeniably dumbfounded, I would be crazy not to notice how deep in thought Cameron is.

"What's wrong?" I ask, realizing for once that I'm the one who is saying it and not him. He looks up to meet my gaze.

"Nothing."

I shake my head. "Don't lie to me Cameron." I respond, my words stern. He flicks his tongue out and swipes it over his lips.

"Emery is hosting the race with Scorpion tonight." He explains and I frown "But he put the offer up to a five hundred thousand."

My eyes bulge out of their sockets although I try to be the silver lining for Cameron. "Why are you so worried? You were convinced that you could do it for a hundred, What's another four hundred?" I don't believe my own words, knowing that another four hundred thousand dollars being placed on the table is no thing to shrug off. However, I need Cameron to know that just because the stakes are higher, doesn't mean he can't do it.

He shakes his head. "I'm not unbeatable Harley. And I feel like people seem to forget that. I can only do so much and now Emery is laying a lot on the line, on my shoulders. The money isn't the important part, it's the reputation of the track."

I purse my lips at him, noticing the concentrated scowl on his face. "So are you still going to do it?" I ask and his eyes meet mine. He nods his head vigorously.

"I would never kick the track to the curb like that."

I feel a sense of admiration for his loyalty to the track- even though so much is on the line, he's still going in confidently. So many of these races are not about the money- although that is definitely a bonus- and more about a power play; a way to boost a track's reputation and be deemed unbeatable.

"If it's any use, I don't think you're unbeatable. I just think that you're incredibly determined and loyal. People seem to get those confused." I respond, slipping my hands into my pockets.

His lips quirk into a small smile and I feel relief flood my veins at the thought that I lightened his mood. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into this chest while I wrap my arms around his torso and breath in his scent.

"You have no idea how much that means to me Harley."

•••

What up everyone! ;) Don't forget to vote and drop a comment on what you thought of this chapter- the feedback is super encouraging.
Y'all, Ryan makes me hella irritated. He really is a character I want to hit over the head with a frying pan... but what do you guys think of him? And about the little tiff he had with Harley and Cam?
Things will start kicking up soon but I hope you're enjoying the story nontheless :)

Also, for now on, whoever comments the best (not necessarily the most) on a chapter will receive a shoutout on the next!

Love you all!

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