As Planned

After almost a month I finally went back to the races. Mom and aunt Sarah weren`t happy about it, but since I decided not to lie about it anymore I think that helped them get over it. Sort of. In a way. They were both still adamant about telling me how dangerous and highly illegal it was. But I kind of ignore them and went anyway. Probably not the best idea, I know. But I still did it. And I had fun. A lot of fun. And I mean a lot of fun. More than Iv`e had in a while actually.

After I got back to going to the races on a regular basis things started to change. I was slowly seeing Neela more than the few minutes in passing at school. We were able to hang out two or three times a week. It was a nice change. When I mentioned it to Han he admitted it was his doing. He had talked to Takashi and made a deal with him. When I tried to press him on the subject and find out what kind of deal he made, he did everything he could to drop the subject and when that didn`t work he tried to distract me. Including kissing me to shut me up. That didn`t go over too well in my book.

But in the end I was able to hang out with Neela more so at least there`s that. Though knowing Han made some form of a deal with Takashi didn`t sit well with me. No matter how innocent it may or may not of been. I think the latter is what worries me. The unknown of what could of possibly gone down for a deal to be made and what exactly it all entails. I know I shouldn`t get worked up over something I can`t change but I can`t help it. I worry over the people I care about. And let`s face it, Han is one of those people. There`s no denying that now.

Speaking of people I care about, aunt Lauren came to visit for a week. After she kept hearing how good my results were she decided to see for herself just how okay I really was.

It was really nice to have her here. She got to meet my new friends, including Han, who she teased me mercilessly over. And for a while I contemplated letting her see my other world. The place that was becoming as much a part of me as everything else. But in the end it wasn`t meant to be. She never got to see the other side of me. The racing side. And in a way I`m kind of glad she didn`t. It`s odd, but I guess her not knowing made it more special. I mean, mom, aunt Sarah, Alex, Kim and Emily already knew, granted the latter three knowing a hell of a lot more about it than the former, about that life. Why should everyone else?

That way of life was becoming very special to me. As fast paced, crazy and dangerous as it was, I loved it. And I loved the friends I made because of it. Sure, we met through school and could of been friends that way. But I think the races solidified it.

Before I knew it, winter gave into spring and I was able to watch the cherry blossoms bloom. As well as graduate high school. I didn`t think I`d ever seen my doctor so smug when he found out I graduated. I still wasn`t in remission but I was alive and doing well. And that was enough for him.

When the cherry blossoms started to bloom, Neela took me to a peaceful little spot to properly look at them. When Han came to pick me up he somehow found a branch above me with some loose petals. One minute I was talking to Neela while she took pictures of the trees and the next petals were in my hair and my picture was being taken while Han smirked at me, hand shaking a branch. He still has that picture on his bedside table, too.

Graduation was an interesting event. Or should I say, the after party was an interesting event. First I had a small party with mom and aunt Sarah. Then I had a very big party at the garage. There were people from school, models and random people with drinks all around. It was actually really fun. By two in the morning the party still hadn`t slowed down, in fact I think it only got crazier. In the end I only stayed up for another hour before dragging myself to bed and passing out with Han at my side. Turns out preparing for the party took a lot out of him.

The next morning I was offered a job at the garage. During the day, Han would teach me whatever he knew about cars and at night I would help run the club. Seeing as I had nothing else to do, I accepted. It had nothing to do with the opportunity to work with my friends and boyfriend. Nope. Not at all. Can you see the sarcasm dripping from my words?

Though I will say it is a bit weird to get a paycheck from my boyfriend every few weeks. But I`ll happily deal with the weirdness if I get to spend time with my friends every day. But I do miss my friends back in America. You know, it`s kind of hard to still consider that place home. Japan is steadily becoming my home and I`m okay with that. Sure, I have family back in America that I miss but this place...I don`t know. There`s just something about it that I`m content with.

Two weeks after graduation I received the best news I could of ever hoped for. I was in remission. And that resulted in another huge celebration. Including a nice skype session with Alex, Emily and Kim. There was a lot of laughing, crying and just having a good time. It was great. And it reminded me just how much I missed them. Thankfully they are going to try and come visit as soon as they can. They did save up the money for it after all.

The day after the big news I did something I never thought I would ever do. I slept with Han. Being with him was definitely worth the wait. After Twinkie and Earl found out what happened we were subjected to endless teasing. Strangely enough, Reiko never said anything about it. She just grinned and waved them on. Han did get them to shut up though. After threatening to stop paying them. Yeah, that shut them up real quick.

About a month after I started working with Han I moved in the garage. And into his room, to be more specific. I still had my old room of course, but it became more of an office than anything else. Everyone needs time to themselves, after all.

Aunt Sarah wasn`t too pleased with the move though. She thought it was too soon in our relationship for us to be living together. And I understood where she was coming from. But I spent most of my time there anyway. And that includes sleeping there. So I kind of ignored what she wanted and just did what I wanted. Normally that`s probably not a good idea but in this case it worked out.

Thankfully mom was okay with it. She was a little worried at first that she wouldn`t see me any more. But after promising to visit at least once a week she gave in. Cause I try to never break my promises. And she knows and trusts that. I think.

Before I knew it, summer had passed, winter had come and I was already in Tokyo for a year. During that time I had gotten closer to Han and a bit more comfortable around cars. I wasn`t completely comfortable with them but it was enough to tolerate being in them. At one point during the summer I sat in the front seat of one of his cars. I never drove or even turned on the engine for that matter. But it was still a big step for me. I don`t think Iv`e ever been smothered in so many hugs like I was the moment I stepped out of that car. And don`t even get me started on all the kisses I got from Han. That man is really good at public displays of affection when he wants to be.

When racing was at its peaking during the summer my friends came to visit. It was amazing having them here. And they enjoyed the scene just like I thought they would. Especially Alex. I practically had to pry her from a car she had apparently fallen in love with.

Before they went back to America we all made an agreement. Alex and Emily would go to a local technical collage and Kim would go to a collage in California on a scholarship and as soon as they all graduated they would move here. They even had jobs lined up. Han already offered Alex a job working on cars, Emily will work fixing computers at her cousins company and Kim will work at her aunt`s design company.

Sure, none of this was what we had planned. Not even close. But it would work. And not everything has to go as planned, right? Sometimes the surprises life throws at you can be better than anything you could ever dream of doing. And I think that`s what Tokyo became for me.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the words, "Take mine". I looked up just in time to see Han toss his keys to some American kid arguing with Takashi. Oh this is bad. This is very bad.

"What? I wanna see what the kids got," Han said to Takashi before the latter walked away with his little crew and Neela in tow.

"What did you just do?" I hissed, faintly hearing Reiko saying something about Mona Lisa`s keys.

He shrugged. "Relax." He kissed my cheek. "Everything will be fine. Let the kid work this out with Takashi in a way that won`t get him killed."

"What car did you give him?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"Mona Lisa."

"I was hoping you wouldn`t say that," I groaned. "You built that car from the ground up. Why that one?"

Han smiled a little and said, "Money will come and go. We know that. It`s trust and character I need around me. And one car in exchange for knowing what a man`s made of. That`s a price I can live with."

"I know that Yoda. But he`s gonna wreck your car."

"And I can buy another one," He chuckled. "Life`s simple. You make choices and you don`t look back."

I grunted and followed him through the parking garage. While he did have a point I wasn`t going to tell him that. "This is definitely not going as planned."