"Hey, Terror!"

The shout came from a lanky man leaning against a black car detailed with a neon-green trim that looked completely out of a video game. His grin wide enough to head to toe with the sun if it was out and he tossed a half-hearted wave in Rylan's direction.

Rylan didn't even blink.

He grinned back, the corners of his mouth curled up into that relaxed smile he had when he felt he was cool. His arm loosely draped over your shoulders, as if he were showing off a trophy.

You blinked at the odd name, confusion scrawled on your face. Rylan leant down so his breath caressed your ear, his voice dropping low.

"Code name, sweetheart," he said to you with a smile, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

That was the way he was—most of the time, you didn't know what language he was even speaking until he decided to let you in on the joke. And somehow, you were here in the middle of a parking lot full of chugging motors and fuzzy paint jobs, all because you'd accidentally bumped into him one night when he was elbow-deep in a busted engine. One conversation turned into dozens, and before you knew it, Rylan was inviting you into an underground nook in the city where "fun" was just a code word for illegal.

He'd told you it was good for you. That you had to unwind, from all your studies. But when the distant thudding bass shook the lot and a team of racers swapped money with cocky grins, you knew you were cooked.

Rylan took you to a car you'd ever heard of more times than you'd ever want to remember: his beloved 1997 Nissan Silvia S14. He'd spoken at great length about her suspension, her paint work, her "temperament" as though she were human. You'd memorized enough information just to shut him up when he starts taking.

He leaned against the Silvia now, arms crossed over his chest, chin up in that arrogant swagger he always had. His eyes swept you once, twice, and he shook his head with a laugh.

"You stick out like a sore thumb, sweetheart," he declared, laughing pulling you closer so you weren't in the way.