𝙎𝙋𝙀𝙀𝘿 - 𝙃𝘼𝙉 𝙇𝙐𝙀

08.

ariana wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. adjusting the hair that fell out of her ponytail behind her ears. she twirled the pencil on her fingers while she attempted to resolve the math equation on her head. she sat on the yellow couch next to twinkie, a block of papers and textbooks sitting on the table. she listened to sean's driving doing her homework. the sun tanning her skin.

-"hey, twink, i'm gonna grab another set." sean said, heading towards the tires. ariana scuffed as twinkie jumped from his seat and made her hand move. a gray line now decorating her homework. she flipped the pencil around and began erasing it.

-"whoa. whoa, whoa, whoa. another set? no. look, that was your third set today. i mean, these tires aren't cheap." twinkie said to sean. ariana and han didn't bother to look up to them. it was a conversation they've had many times before.

ariana and han stood up, everyone's attention being called by the loud engines behind them. a fuming takashi walked out of his car, glaring at sean. han noticed his temper putting himself in front of him, ariana stayed close to takashi.

-"grab a chair. we're about to roast some marshmallows." han sarcastically said, earning a shove from han. twinkie tried to reason with takashi getting pushed out of the way as well. takashi punched sean, making him fall to the ground.

-"takashi, stop." ariana yelled at him, sprinting after him just to be stopped by morimoto.

-"get off me, you fucker." ariana said trying to pry him off her. he wrapped him arms around her, keeping her in place. takashi punched sean over and over again, until blood ran across his face. takashi kneeled over him.

-"stay away from her, or the only thing you'll be driving in a wheelchair." he whispered some words in japanese. ariana couldn't make out what they were.

-"who's fucking side are you on, huh? you're gonna keep playing mechanic for the gaijin?" takashi turned his back away from sean, heading towards ariana. he shoved morimoto out of his way, grabbing a hold of ariana's arms. he released one of her arms and held her shin, making her look straight at him. han walked closer to them.

-"get off her man, what are you doing?" han was shove back by morimoto, keeping him away from them. takashi was so close to her he was practically spitting on her. ariana flinched every time he moved, trying to again pry herself out of his arms. he let go of her, pushing her back. heading to his car before looking back.

-"get in the fucking car, ariana."ariana looked at sean, who stared right back at her. then at han, who had a reluctant look on his face. she cussed underneath her breath, considering for a moment to get in his car.

-"we aren't kids, takashi. this isn't about picking sides. stop being an ass, maybe? and neela might just stick around." ariana stood her ground, not falling for his dominant act. shoving him back to create distance between the two of them. she watched him step closer to her, before looking back at his car. he glared back at ariana before making his way to the car, wasting no time before leaving.

ariana sighed and turned around, sprinting towards sean, he was still laying on the floor. he squinted while looking back at han, then at ariana.

-"what'd you expect? you didn't just play with fire; you soaked the matches in gasoline." han said entering the garage again. ariana extended her hand towards sean, helping him get up. she gently grabbed his face, analyzing the effect of dk's punches on his face. his lips were cut open, as well as his eyebrow. blooder splattered all over his face.

-"are you okay?" han said to ariana, analyzing the red parts on her face. she nodded. 

-"yeah, i'm fine." ariana said. 

-"come on, i'll clean you up." ariana said, walking beside him. they entered the garage, sean took a seat on the couch beside the cars. he leaned back, closing his eyes. ariana sprinted up the stairs, entering han's office. she didn't acknowledge his presence, just went straight for the cabinet on his right wall. she grabbed the alcohol bottle; some cotton pads and an antibiotic ointment she wasn't sure she was even going to use.

ariana couldn't help but think about what she encountered a few days ago. she had almost forgotten about the files she found, how she still had no idea what they were. she didn't know whether she should say something, perhaps it was better is she didn't know. she left the room, making her way down the stairs again. sean was still in the same place. at least he looked comfortable in his seat, ariana thought.

-"okay, let's clean you up." ariana said standing close to him, he sat up. she popped the alcohol bottle open, holding a cotton pad to the opening. she noticed how his body tensed, his breathing got heavier. ariana chuckled at this.

-"don't tell me you're scared of a little alcohol, sean." ariana closed the bottle, placing it on the ground. he laughed nervously.

-"shut up." sean said. ariana stepped closer to his face, leaning down to talk to him.

-"it'll be over quick." ariana promised. she carefully dabbed the cotton pad on his face, noticing the white cotton pad quickly turned red.

-"what are you going to do?" ariana said. she switched the cotton pad, repeating the motions until there was no more visible blood. he knew she was talking about neela, talking about takashi. he looked back at her through his lashes.

-"what's there to do? let a prick tell me how to run my life? i don't think so." sean replied. ariana grabbed all of the cotton pads, throwing them away in a trash cans.

-"if you don't back away from her, he will come back. you can't be too careful around takashi, you're going to get hurt sean. neela will end up getting hurt, it's inhibitable. instead of trying to prove something to takashi, figure out why you and neela can't seem to stay away from each other." ariana said more sternly that she intended. he stared back at her, knowing she was right.

-"i'll do that when you and han figure out what you mean to each other." sean said chuckling as he did. ariana's breath hitched. she was taken back at his comment. 

was there more for han and ariana? she'd never thought about it, she would never want to force something between them. did she want something with him in the first place? ariana took a deep breathe, bringing her focus back on sean. 

-"well, han and i weren't just threatened with incapacitation." ariana said, laughing at him. 

-"i'm betting on y'all." sean said getting up from the couch, making his way to the skateboard that rolled under a cabinet. 

-"are you sure you can leave? i don't want you to faint or anything?" ariana said walking after him. 

-"it's not the first time i've gotten punched, ariana. i'm alright." sean said getting on the skateboard. ariana watched him struggle for a few seconds before riding away. 

ariana grabbed the alcohol bottle and the ointment, making her way up the stairs again. she entered han's office, putting the stuff back in the cabinet. she stared at the floor a few seconds before making turning her body towards him. she felt butterflies in her stomach, even though words hadn't come out of her mouth. she was nervous. 

-"did sean leave?" han asked, walking towards her. ari backed up to the wall, leaning on it. 

-"yeah, he went home. i think?" ariana said smiling at him. 

-"good. he needs to stay out of trouble. takashi's isn't going to get off his back any time soon." han said, a bag of nuts in his hands. ari nodded at him. she almost made her way out of the room before she stopped herself, her body subconsciously forcing her to face him. 

-"can we, can we talk really quick?" ariana said, her voice not being as loud as before. han nodded at her, sitting on the black leather couch. she sighed before sitting next to him, turning her body towards him. 

-"what'd you want to talk about" han said, ready to listen to every word that came out of her mouth.