She Won't Be Lonely Long

Hannah didn't run, knowing she couldn't possibly race that sporty looking fellow even if his shorts were at his feet. All the same, she was scared speechless once he was on her side of the street, weakly suspended on the very edge of the curb before her. "Don't let them know you are an American." Sergio's advice continued to sprint through her thoughts.

He began to speak to her in Spanish, a language that she didnt understand the least bit. His words seemed harsh to her though, not similiar to the gentle language Sergio or Xabi spoke. It was as if he were claiming his territory, saying that she wasn't allowed to be there.

All of a sudden, he began to speak softly and more fluidly, the Spanish dialect rolling off of his tongue as he advanced on her. The way he glared at her made her feel filthy, his eyes flicking up and down the zipper bound over her chest and eventually making contact with her own. Against her sincere green orbs shone his, curning blackness that showed nothing but unprovoked hate oddly garnished with lust. She didn't speak, partly because she was too scared to and also because past that point, her label as an American would have been set in stone. Whatever that meant, she wasn't sure off but she put trust in whatever Sergio had said because at that point she was clinging onto his wisdom for dear life, wishing he were there and wondering what the hell was taking so long.

He was insulted that she wouldn't speak, and dared to shove her backwards with force just as the clear radiance of headlights sliced through distant blackness and the shrieking of tires met their ears. The car approached them at a staggering rate and came to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk, literally parked over the cracking sand-colored curb.

About damn time; I guess Imma live after all... Hannah thought, a weak smile growing on her face as she stumbled forward to reach the car.

When Maral got out of the drivers seat she was seeing crimson red, only more when she noticed the man latch his arms around Hannah so she couldn't reach the car's safety.

"Lárgate de aquí puta!" Maral boomed angrily, franctically rummaging in the mess of Sergio's car for something similar to a crow bar. She found nothing.

Although as Maral approached her face was an unpleasant shade of fuschia and had the expression of a dreary bull dog plastered across her features, the man wasn't the least bit intimidated. He saw Maral as another pretty girl and allowed her to near, just as Hannah kicked him in the shin and fell backwards, which was okay so long as it was away from him. She literally took the time to wipe her arms off, feeling his filth falter and shrivel into a husk at her feet.

Meanwhile, the man clutched his shin in agony with one hand and swatted towards Maral with the other. Just as she went to swing in defense, an agile brick of fist intruded, it's knuckles and tendons bulging with fury. It whistled through the air between the two girls and the man, slamming against the stubble of his head hard enough that the sound of the impact made you cringe. An awful cracking noise filled their ears for a minute before they looked down to see the man passed out on the broken gravel road, looking serene and peaceful with his legs bent to his chest. With his every breath came a high-pitched whistling noise that couldn't have been normal.

The fury flooded from Maral's face and she clapped her hands, a wide smile baring the sparkle of her teeth as she bounced on the pads of her feet.

"Xabi!" she squealed, her hair flowing in unison with her energy as it swam around her head. "I've never seen you hit anybody! That was amazing!"

Xabi stared at his trembling fist for a minute, thinking the same about himself. It felt nice to actually hurt for once, like hitting that man was an act of rebellion against anyone who had ever pissed him off. Sergio was whining in the background, pulling himself from the velvety back seat of his car and leaping onto the pavement.

"I wanted to do that!"

Maral linked arms with Hannah and Xabi, leading them both to the car.

"Hurry, before we get our asses in the tabloids again." she said excitedly, joining Hannah in paying one last glance to the feeble bundle of muscle curled up at the grill of the car before parting ways with them and dissapearing into the drivers side.

Hannah stood with Xabi on the other side, while Sergio pouted between them and tried his best to focus on his own melancholy thoughts. With both hands she tenderly cupped Xabi's quivering fist while struggling not to smile, because in her mind she was utterly chipper from what had just happened. The smoothness of her own hands cushioned the callous of his own and they both stared to the pile of fists held before them.

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head swiftly, his lips stretching wide and allowing hers to at last.

"That felt good. Are you alright?"

As her answer, she giggled and ducked to roll into the back seat, sliding across the smooth cushion to allow him in next to her. Sergio let out one last tormented whimper before pushing his seat back and finding refuge in it. His door was shut now, and the hideous orange light of that neighborhood buzzed past as Maral's adrenaline began spiralling through her veins.

"Thank you." was all Hannah needed to say, and because dark had fogged up the inside of the car she let a vast grin melt her face.

Xabi nodded slowly, turning his head to Maral as she opened her mouth to speak.

"You're such a badass! Xabi, you're our knight in shining armor! I love you!"

At that praise, Sergio growled and crossed his arms so Maral would realize the distress her confidant was under, having missed such a chance of sucker punching a thug.

"Oh, baby..." she whispered sympathecially, peeling one hand from the steering wheel to caress his thigh.

"I wanted to!"

"I know, I know. But it was sexy, right?" Maral's nose wrinkled as excitement washed across her face again.

Sergio let out a feminine gasp and Hannah chuckled, agreeing with what Maral had said to the fullest. Xabi was certainly one fabulous specimen of a man... handsome, sporty, masculine, polite... and yet he just knocked a sturdy man out cold with the crack of one knuckle. He wasn't cocky or arrogant from his newfound accomplishment, he just went back to being friendly and collected once the ordeal had passed. As part of Maral's plan and even part of his plan when he decided to attack that man, she couldn't have been more attracted to him.