There was an ear deafening whistle that made all the racers push their foot up the accelerator. About fifteen cars which were aligned, moved together and I kept my eyes on the red striped car.

My heart had started to painfully pound as I saw them go one behind the other. Robert was at the sixth place, I had counted and seemingly, he was doing pretty well. Two cars behind him, yellow and brown colored, appeared to have a mini fight of their own, dashing each other, instead of racing.

"Scar?" Robert's voice boomed on the Bluetooth again. "You there?"

"Huh?" I asked perplexed at the voice again. I had to get used to this thing at least for tonight. "Yeah, yeah."

"So," He drawled. I knew he was in a good mood, not the one for the game he was in. "How was your day?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, idiot?" I almost screamed. "Do you know what is happening behind you?"

I put my hands on my head, thinking about what might happen if the two cars accelerated just a little more to dash the car Rob was in.

Of course, Rob just laughed. "Don't pay attention to what is happening behind me."

"Sure, I should!" I argued back. "You were the one who told me to keep my eyes on all sides of my car."

"So my car is your car now?" I could almost see him smirk.

"Rot in hell." He laughed some more. Then I realized the situation he was in and I started to panic at the weight those three words held.

Just then, the two cars who were bickering behind, as anticipated accelerated to reach Robert and hit him in the back.

"No!" I shouted, reaching for the railing to hold me still. My legs were crumbling down the ground and I was scared. The crowd below me, gave an 'oh' as they comprehended what they just saw.

I had heard stories of how the earpieces were responsible for the racers' accident and some of them couldn't live with the guilt and had killed themselves. I didn't want to be one of them and I didn't want Robert to die.

Robert's car tumbled and circled around, making me hold my breath. It circled for two whole seconds within which the other cars zoomed past him.

"My ear, love." I heard him say. "You don't have to shout. What should I do now?"

"What do you mean, what you should do?" I asked, clearly pissed at his question. "Keep your head in the game! You are beaten by two cars now!"

"The cars that dashed, where are they?" He asked still circling.

"They are the ones which zoomed past you!" I screamed back. If anyone saw me here shouting and throwing fits up in the air, they would think I was crazy.

"I don't know which is the correct way to put the break." He said in a small voice. Though he seemed cool enough, I was sure he was stressed just as I was. "By the way, stop shouting."

"Breaks! Now!" I shouted again. "Now!"

He did as I just said. He was now facing the actual direction of the track and I was proud that I had done the right thing at the right time.

"That was nice!" He became steady just as another car went past him.

"Now race!"

He did as I told him. Though I was not actually in the race, sitting behind the wheel, I told him when to hit the brakes and when to accelerate. The only thing I was surprised was, he didn't comment on anything that I said. He followed what I told him, just as he promised.

This was only covering half of the tracks. And he had passed it all very well. It was also before the obstacles came in. If I was a little better at what I was doing; the other half of the race was where I doubted my instant-acquired skills.

"I'm stopping for road-test." Rob announced as he slowed down a bit. There were other men waiting for him to halt to work on the car, at exactly halfway across the race.

It was a building similar to the one I was in. It looked deserted at the terrace and all the crew were waiting for Rob to stop, so that they could work on the vehicle.

It mainly consisted of changing the wheels or changing the engine oil whichever was necessary.

As far as I knew, it was the main aim of having an earpiece. The racer and the earpiece are always in constant sync wherein the earpiece learns about the smooth working of the machine. He redirects what he thinks is wrong or right with the vehicle so that it becomes easy and faster for the workers when the car comes for a check-up in between the races. So a perfect coordination of the two is very necessary for the same to run smoothly.

Even though Robert says that having an earpiece is like petting a white elephant, they also come in handy. Dan was always the right hand for my Dad and my Dad never went to the race without him. Maybe that was the reason why they called them earpieces.

"That was a hard hit there, Bert." I heard someone else talk. I looked at the red stripped car to see another man, with a big belly, lean across the car window facing Rob. His shirt was way too small and from the distance I was in, I could see this belly button ring shine as the light hit it. "You are having an earpiece?"

He sounded surprised? I listened intensely.

"Oh, I shouldn't have taken off the helmet." I heard Robert sigh. "You didn't hear that right, babe?"

"Of course not." I said rolling my eyes at the night sky. It had already become dark with a few starts twinkling dimly.

"Babe?" I heard the other man laugh. When I saw him, he had put his head back, stroking his long beard. "No wonder why you took that hit there then."

I was more than angry. The guy, whoever he was, did not know anything about it, yet he was blaming the whole stuff on me. It was totally not fair.

"Tell him to shut up, Rob." I rebuked. "I'll be down there in a second to kick his ass right now!"

Robert as usual gave his signature laugh. "It's alright. You need to cool down."

I didn't know whom he was addressing, but I folded my hands and looked away.

"Look, I need you to win, Bert. I don't care if you are fooling around with a chick, but right now, I want you to keep your head above the water." The other guy advised.

"Well, I don't like him any better either." I stomped my leg like a two year old child.

"Well, you know I'm not fooling around when it comes to stuff like this, right?" I heard Robert say. I wondered if he was addressing me or the game he was in.

"You are good to go. Go! Go! Go!"

There was no time left to chit chat or give explanations. It was the time to race through and make Robert win. Robert took off with more speed than I had estimated, trying to make up for the time that he lost with the road test.

"I'm sorry, love." Robert said when he was on the road again.

"Shut up!" I said. If he was in my hands reach, I would have hit him hard with my fists. "Here comes the obstacles I was talking about."

"Okay, I'm all ears." Robert said, his funny tone gone, replaced by the game-on tone.

He went as I asked him to. I gave him the information of the other drivers of the three sixty degree news. I had got a hang of the game now and I knew we were better than we were when we started. We moved together in sync like the orchestral music, in rhythm, in beat.

He passed that water cans which were haphazardly placed in the tracks. The last can was full of water and Robert managed to hit it at its sides. The water broke out in spurs sprinting everywhere.

A completely black car passed by after Robert's car. Because of the water, the tyres skidded. The driver tried to stop the car as he applied the brakes, but it was of no use. The black panther went directly towards the sides running past the viewers and hitting the edges of the barricade. The dashboard opened up and smoked puffed up as the engine shut off completely.

"The black panther is gone." I informed. There were now only two more cars in front of him keeping him from the finish line.

"There's this pin point curve ahead of me." Robert replied back, clearly not interested in what happened to the other drivers.

"Yes, that too." I chewed my nails nervously.

Just as he entered the curve, the two cars which were bickering before were straight ahead of us. They were still at it and it was difficult to go past them. Suddenly they went at higher speed, hitting each other. With that impact the yellow car's door opened up.

The door came out from its vehicle. With the speed that the car was going in, the door flew up in the air. "Watch it!" I shouted, as the door came at my driver.

I held my breath, clutching the railings so hard that I was sure my knuckles were white. Robert went towards his right as the door came at his left. Though Robert was saved, the door went and hit the driver who was behind him. The other driver, who was not anticipating it, got the hit. The door scraped the top portion of the car, along with the driver.

"Oh My God!" I put my hands on my head, not liking what I was watching. "No! No!"

"What happened?" Robert asked. "Are you okay?"

I was going crazy. How was this guy even sane? He was the one who was in those death tracks and he was asking me if I was okay. The fact alone made me itch my eyes out and pluck all the hairs on my head.

"The guy just died!" I was hyperventilating. I could hardly breathe. "Oh My God!"

"You are not supposed to scare me like that!" Robert shouted back. "Stay with me, okay?

"No, no.." I chanted like it was the only mantra I knew.

"Scarlet, please stay focused." Robert almost begged. "Keep your eyes on me, okay?"

"In front of you!" I shouted again as I noticed the yellow and brown colored cars which were fighting, dashed again. The brown one hitting the yellow one at its fuel tank, ran past leaving the other behind.

Just as the liquid leaked, the yellow car was set in flames just in seconds. A little fire was caught on the brown one's back, which went only a little further to catch fire and blow up. This race was surely deadly.

"Rob... smoke... in front...you" I stuttered like an idiot, still not able to recover from the fact that I had witnessed three deaths in a single night, not to mention within half an hour of time.

The fire that had caught up, had created a small smoke world of its own. Not even me or Robert could see what was happening past the smoke, or where the cars were present to avoid the fatal accident.

"Do you see where the cars are?" Robert asked very patiently. It was the question for which I didn't know the answer to.

"Please don't die." Was all I could say.

I heard him take a deep breath before he made it towards the smokes. I crossed my fingers so tight, praying that nothing bad would result from this. I looked at the crowd and I could hear the crowd grasp and shout, screaming names and calling out to die.

The car had to go past the accidental zone to make the pin curve. If it did pass at it, the pin curve had to be perfected to get out of there without a scratch. If he got out of the smoke, but couldn't make the curve, then the smoke would eat him up alive. Along with this, there were other cars to hit.

"I'm going for it." Robert announced, as he vanished into the smoke. The crowd went silent, waiting and expecting the future that held in his hands.

Tears pooled in my eyes, expecting the unexpected. I had been to races, but it was never this intense. Or perhaps my Dad never took me to such ones, not wanting me to be a spectator of another accident of my parent.

Either way, he had done a good job at that, I could have never survived such scene when it came to someone as close to me as him.

Now, the smoke was as still as the dead, making me shiver at the thoughts. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Robert came out of it successfully. But the pin curve was still to be completed, and I held my mouth shut not to disturb him.

I could hear his deep, shallow breaths as he increased his pace to reach the curve. "I love it when you worry about me, babe." He said making me smile.

"I hate it when I worry." I said, wiping the tears that fell on my cheeks.

He laughed again, before he raced towards that curve. He effortlessly made it out, reaching for the finish line.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" I shouted, jumping up and down. He had made it out without a scratch. To say I was happy was an understatement. I was overjoyed and thrilled. "Oh My God! You did it in one piece!"

He went ahead in full speed and winning the damned race once and for all. There was loud cheering with his track name 'Lighting' calling out over and over again.

I ran down the stairs to meet him. My joy knew no bounds. I mean I was never this happy even when I had seen Dad win races all these years. By the time I had reached the grounds, Robert had climbed out of the car and was hugging few guys who probably had helped with fixing the car.

He undoubtedly had removed his Bluetooth from his ears as I was not able to hear anything from it except for the cheers from the crowd. I stood there with a thousand watt smile and was looking at the scene unfold in front of me with admiration.

Few of the crew members had reached for the wounded guys and the cars which had burned down. I gulped at the scene and kept my face straight at Robert, not wanting it to make me nauseous.

Robert looked around and when he spotted me rooted to my spot, he gave me his signature smirk and waved me to come over. I smiled back and ran towards him, giving him a big hug, surprising both of us at the same time. He held me tight and swung me around.

"You did it!" I cried again, looking at him.

"We did it!" He said, putting me on the ground.

---

Though everyone were enjoying over the win, there was something that was nagging me. I had witnessed three deaths in a row and it was a hard fact to digest. These people had been laughing and drinking as if nothing had gone wrong.

How could they?

The last time I had witnessed an accident was my mother's and the flashbacks didn't make any it any less enduring for me.

"You okay?" Robert asked realizing that I had become silent.

"Can we leave now?" I asked with a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

"Scarlet," Robert sighed. "You have to get used to it. The deaths are always common in this field. I know it's a shock, but with time you'll get used to it."

There was no way I would get used to death over time. I could never, not when I had lost one of my parents. I nodded my head and looked away, not wanting to put my thoughts out in the open.

"Come on then," Robert said with a smile. He took my hand and turned towards the guys he was talking to earlier. "Guys, we will call it a day."

Many said it was a shame that we had to leave early, but Rob had made the decision and I was glad about it. They finally bid farewell patting Robert's back as we passed them through.

Robert had held my hand all the way and the touch alone had a comfortable feeling. Luther, one of the guys, told about the winning prize just before we left. The winner was awarded with the cash money and all the cars that had come to the game. So by the end of the day, he was an owner of fifteen dented and scratched cars.

"You are rich now." I said, as we finally made our way out. It was also my feeble attempt to change the subject and get my head out of it. "Wow."

Robert had understood and he had not commented anything about the change of topic. In fact he looked happy about it. "When you put it that way, can I say you make me rich?" he asked putting his left hand around my shoulders.

I laughed. "You are so cheesy sometimes that I feel you should be on butter advertisement." I said, moving away from his grasp. But he held on my hands and pulled me closer.

"You could be the bread then." He whispered. "Then, you could get the reward for being my earpiece."

I remembered the conversation we had in the car about the kiss as a reward. I was sure my face turned pink. It was one of those precious times that my mind had decided to shut down and ignore the possibility of making up a sarcastic comeback.

Robert leaned further and I stopped breathing. "Bert!" Someone from behind us called. "I almost forgot! Collect the cash within this week!"

Robert only smirked back at me and turned at the source of the voice. "Sure, Lu!" Robert called out, putting his hand around my shoulder again. That intense moment was gone. I released the breath I didn't know I was holding. "What?" Robert asked with his smirk again.

"You... you have three names, right?" I asked, not wanting him to know about the race that my heart was going through. "Rob, Bert, Robert, lighting..."

"I have many more names too." Robert said in all seriousness that I had to believe him.

"What are they?" I asked curious to know. 

"People call me hot, dazzling, smart, sexy, dashing, amazing, seductive... I can give out all the names you know." He said, with his own smirk. "Wait, only girls call me that."

"Oh, I'm sure." I laughed. "I can imagine what the guys call you."

"They too are wonderful." He made a face that I had to laugh again. We reached his car Maria and I went towards my usual passenger seat, but the car was still locked. I turned to look at him, who just threw the keys at me.

With my great reflexes, I caught them immediately and looked at him raising one eyebrow. "You drive," He said with a small smile. "I've had enough adventure for the day."

Robert handing me his car keys was a miracle of its own. He valued Maria more than anyone and him giving permission to for me to drive outside of tracks told me that he trusted me. And in anything that may be, trust was an important element.

"Yay!" I jumped in his arms again. This time he caught me with ease laughing heartily. "Get ready, Robert. It's going to be one hell of a ride." 

---

A/N: How was the race? Did I meet all your expectations? Scarlet and Robert make a great team, isn't it? I'm already shipping them off.